Forever Never Ends
by IcyFire123
Summary: **A/N** Once, she was in love. And once, he loved her too. But thru the pains of reality, they learn that life doesn't always work out as planned. Many years later, the truth about their past is emerging. The body may adapt, but the soul can never forget.
1. Desperation

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, but the plot is mine.

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Summary: Once, she was in love. And once, he loved her too. But through the harsh pains of reality, they learn that life doesn't always turn out the way you plan. Many years after Hogwarts, the truth is finally coming out, little by little, piece by piece. Hermione must finally face the past she has tried so hard to forget and the man who she once loved. Destinies mingle and lives intertwine in this tale of forbidden love, burning hate, limitless guilt, absolute jealousy, and ultimately, betrayal in the name of love. The body may adapt, but the soul can never forget. This is their story.

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A/N: this is my first fanfic, please read and review!

Also, this is kinda like a prologue, and I thought it would look better if the whole thing was italized. So that means that all the thoughts are going to be unitalized. So I just wanted to clear that up cuz usually its the other way around and you guyz might have gotten confused.

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Forever Never Ends

Chapter One/Prologue

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The flashes of lightning lit up the dark sky like silver fireworks and the thunder roared over silence in the shadowy forest. 

A baby's cry pierced the night air.

A young girl stumbled through the forest, clutching her child to her chest, holding her closer, hoping desperately that the child would cease her crying. The branch of a nearby tree reached out and clawed at the pale flesh of her cheek and she felt a trickle of warm blood glide down, mingling with her tears. 

The girl stopped in her step and lifted her eyes up to meet the dark sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a dancing star, but only saw the ominous gray clouds, hovering over her. 

Gray, like his eyes_. Memories flooded her._ No, I must forget!

But she could not forget. Holding her baby even tighter, she continued on through the forest, her footsteps hitting the soft soil in an unsteady rhythm. Warm tears slid down her face, blinding her, and she tripped over the protruding root of a large tree. She fell to the damp forest floor, still cradling her young infant protectively in her arms. 

Her robes were torn and muddied and her arms bore scratches and bruises from her journey in the forest. Her baby gave a small cry, and the young girl held her closer so that their cheeks brushed against each other, weeping softly, and letting her tender wave of brown curls caress the child. Feeling hopeless, she cried to the heavens, pleading for mercy.

Oh God, why have you forsaken me?

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The young girl sat cuddled at the base of the great tree for what seemed like an eternity, listening to her baby's wails, and letting her own silent tears fall.

And she knew what she must do.

Almost, as if knowing what would happen, the baby cried harder, one small hand wrapped tightly around her mother's finger and the other gripping the soiled robe. Desperately, the girl tore her finger out of the baby's grasp and set the child in a small crevice in the tree. 

She leaned down slowly and planted a soft kiss on her baby's forehead, and then proceeded to draw a dagger from her robes. The dagger glistened mercilessly in the darkness. With trembling hands the girl held the dagger up above the body of her child. She was determined, her mind was set, and she had no other choice.

The baby stopped crying suddenly and looked straight into her mother's eyes. The eyes full of grief, hopelessness, desperation…and of love. The girl attempted to look away, but couldn't help but sink into her daughter's eyes, those two deep oceans that mirrored her own.

So innocent_, she thought bitterly. _So innocent…

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The young girl held the dagger up high and squeezed her eyes shut, but finding that she could not carry through with her plan, thrust the gleaming weapon into the soft soil of the forest floor, falling on her knees with her face buried in her hands. 

She forced herself to stand up and stole one last glance at her baby girl before she turned around and staggered away.

Oh God, have mercy on her!

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The baby gave a cry.

She stopped in her step, but she did not turn around. 

Oh God!

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The young girl, determined, summoned up all her strength, and darted into the darkness of the trees, never to look back.

Have mercy_._

TBC

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A/N: ok, that was pretty stupid. Um…take a wild guess who that girl was. This is my first fic so it's gonna kinda suck. I don't really know how this whole place works. Gosh I even forgot to put the disclaimer in at first. But anyhow, please review, it would help bunches!


	2. A Moonlight Walk

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot

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Forever Never Ends

Chapter 2

Draco Malfoy awoke to find himself sprawled over the golden sheets of his luxurious canopy bed. He stretched and emitted a loud yawn, then turned over and attempted to go back to sleep.

"Draco! Are you up yet?" a voice rang from inside the bathroom.

Draco turned over again and tried to cover his ears with a big soft pillow, the same golden color that matched his bedsheets.

Without warning, the door to the bathroom was throw open and a graceful figure stepped into the bedroom. She was dressed in genuine muggle attire, a pair of dark blue jeans and a red haltertop, which showed off her beautifully curved body. Her silky ebony hair flowed down her back to her waist, and her bright blue eyes glistened with impatience. In her left hand she held a small mirror, and in her other hand was a lipstick of a soft pink color, which she was slowly applying to her naturally lusciously red lips.

"Just give me a minute, Pansy," Draco said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up on the bed. He tossed the covers aside and slowly walked past his wife to the bathroom, slamming the door shut after he was inside.

He walked through the spacious marble floor to the shower. He stepped in and turned on the hot water. He definitely needed a hot shower. A hot shower to forget her, to wipe her from his memory for another day, so that he could go on living with Pansy and forget that she even existed. It was impossible, he knew. And he let the tears glide down like crystal droplets, pelting down to the smooth marble base of the shower with a steady beat, mingling with the hot water. He cried for her, he cried for himself, but most of all, he cried for a love that could never be.

After finishing his shower, he realized that he had forgotten to pick out some clothes to wear and to bring it into the bathroom. Today was just not his day.

"Pansy, could you get me something to wear?"

Pansy, in the middle of applying her mascara, sighed, and walked to the closet in search of an outfit for him.

Draco opened the bathroom door just a tiny crack, just enough so that Pansy could give him the bundle of clothes she had picked out for him. He tried pitifully to use the door to hide his naked body.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You know Draco, it's not like I haven't seen it all."

"Thanks," said Draco, ignoring her comment, and shutting the door again.

When Draco stepped out of the bathroom door five minutes later, Pansy obviously was tired of waiting for him and wasn't in their bedroom anymore.

_She probably went down for breakfast_, he thought. He left their room and walked down the quiet hallway and down the magnificent staircase to the dining room where Pansy and his mother, Narcissa, were seated. Lucius, though, was not present because he was on a business trip in Egypt.

"Good morning."

Narcissa gave him a small forced smile. "Have a seat Draco."

Draco pulled out the chair next to Pansy's and sat down, reaching for a fork to bein eating.

"Mother, I have an important business meeting at the Ministry this morning. I cannot stay long, I must leave soon."

Pansy put her fork down and sighed again. "Draco, you've forgotten."

"Forgotten what?"

"Dr. Pedini is coming to the manor today to see me for, well," Pansy blushed, "well, you know. And you have to be there."

_Shit._

He had conveniently forgotten that the family doctor was coming over to the Manor today.

"Pansy, must you see the doctor?"

"Draco, don't you care?"

"Well, I just don't think it's that important, that's all," Draco said uneasily, not exactly wanting to address the issue.

Narcissa sent him a sharp reprimanding look. "Draco, this is the future of the Malfoy family we're talking about here. Is it not important to you?

"Mother, just because Pansy is unable have children doesn't mean that we need make a fuss out of – "

"I am not making a fuss out of it, I'm just merely concerned!" Narcissa shot back dangerously. She exhaled slowly, almost nervously and continued in a small, suppressed voice. "What would your father say?"

"And who said I can't have any children?" Pansy asked, her voice with a noticeable quiver, and her eyes a tad bit overbright.

"Stop it!" Narcissa exclaimed in an outburst, and then proceeded to massage her temples. "Draco, you and Pansy have been married for, how long? Eight months? Almost a year? Almost a year and, well, your father is concerned. What I mean is, the Malfoy family needs an heir!"

"What does that have to do with the doctor, really?"

"I think we need to find out what's wrong with Pansy and – "

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Pansy shrieked and then immediately dashed out of the dining room, crying as she went.

There was a long pause in which neither mother nor son said anything. It was Draco who finally made the first move. He rose from the seat, shoved the chair back in under the table and left the room, leaving Narcissa all alone to ponder her thoughts.

He locked himself in his study, sat down at his desk, and tried to concentrate on Ministry work. In his fourth year at Hogwarts, Voldemort returned and for the next three years attempted to take over the whole wizarding world. Then at the end of his seventh year, Voldemort had disappeared again. Probably again bidding his time until he could seek his revenge. 

After his seventh year he had started to work at the ministry, much to the disapproval of his father who wish him to…well, continue in his footsteps. Although his father was one of the most prominent Deatheaters in Voldemort's circle, Draco himself had no desire whatsoever to be branded with the disgusting mark that adorned his father's and many other's arms. Instinctively, he placed a hand on his forearm and clawed at the flesh. When he realized what he had been doing, he released his grip on his arm and resolved to forget about it. 

Ministry work was difficult and rigorous these days. Everyone knew that Lord Voldemort was getting stronger day by day but none was able to pinpoint his location. The wizarding community lived in fear and dread of the day You-Know-Who would return. And they all knew that day would come to pass. At the Ministry, wizards and witches spent hours deciphering information and codes, trying to find and destroy Lord Voldemort. 

Draco let his thoughts wander back to his seventh year. Protected within the walls of Hogwarts, he and the other students were safe and did not worry about the outside world. Seventh year…not even a year ago.

_Seventh year…that was when…no, I won't think of her._

He tried desperately to push her out of his mind, to wipe her clean from his memories, and was not succeeding until the doorbell rang, shattering his thoughts. Draco groaned distressfully, knowing that the doctor had arrived. He stood up from his chair, scrambled out of his study and strided through the long halls and passageways of the Malfoy Manor to the great entrance. Pansy, not to his surprise, was already there, warmly greeting the doctor.

Dr. Pedini was a short, plump woman with a bubbly round face, and had been the Malfoy family doctor for as long as he could remember. Pansy politely invited her in and Draco shook her hand, trying to act like he was interested. Then Pansy nervously led the doctor to her bedroom, where she explained her condition and the doctor did some routine examinations on her. Draco waited outside their bedroom and pulled out a book to read during this time. He let his fingers run over the golden inscription on the leather cover. _Romeo and Juliet_, it read. He began to read, slowly and deeply at first, but then just scanned the pages quickly for about an hour until the examination was finished.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I cannot find anything wrong with you. You seem to be healthy. Sometimes when one is stressed or overburdened, she will be barren."

"What can I do about it?" Pansy asked eagerly.

The doctor pursed her lips. "I suggest that you might try taking nightly walks under the moon. It might help your condition." 

Pansy sighed with relief and twirled her hair in her fingers. "So that's all? There's nothing really wrong with me?"

The doctor shook her head slowly, almost greviously.

"Oh, I must tell mother!" Pansy cried in delight and then exited the room in a hurry to find Narcissa.

Draco and Dr. Pedini were left in the room alone. There was silence, and then-

"Really?"

The doctor sighed heavily. "No."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy but your wife cannot have children."

"So you lied."

"Yes, to spare her."

There was another awkward silence, and then the doctor left the house.

~

"Oh Draco, I'm so excited! I can't believe I've been worrying so long about it and there hasn't been anything wrong at all!" Pansy exclaimed.

All Draco could do was to sigh. After the doctor had left, Pansy had been practically dancing around the manor all day. And worse, Narcissa forced him stay home from work the whole day to celebrate. He couldn't get away from her for even a minute. 

He felt worse though, during dinner, when she had asked him how many children he wanted to have. He was just digging a hole he wouldn't be able to get out of later, and felt like he owed her the truth, even though the truth would hurt her. He almost refused when she asked him to accompany her on the moonlit walk. But he decided that he should probably play along for a little while before breaking the news to her. Maybe after she saw that the moonlit walks didn't work, she'd be ready to receive the truth. So, it was with a heavy heart that he went on a stroll her that night.

The sky was dark, the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared. They apparated to a nearby forest because Pansy thought a forest would be terribly romantic. She held onto his hand and led him into the dense, dark forest. The walk was unbearably quiet as he had nothing he wanted to say to her. At last, Pansy broke the silence.

"Draco." It came as a soft whisper.

"Yes?"

"I know."

"Know what?"

Pansy took a deep breath. "I know the doctor lied."

Draco turned her around and looked at her with surprise.

"You don't have to keep pretending," she continued. "I think I've known for a long time, but I've tried to deny it.

"It?"

"You know, the fact that I can't have kids." Tears welled up in her eyes, but she still tried to smile. "But you know, that's okay, just as long as I have you." She turned to him and straightened his collar with her soft hands.

"How did you know?"

"I was eavesdropping when you and the doctor were talking."

"Oh."

"Besides, what thick headed idiot would really believe that rubbish about moonlit walks?" She laughed bitterly, and soon her laughter turned to cries.

"Oh."

"Draco I'm so sorry we can't have any kids." Pansy wrapped her arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder, letting his shirt soak up her tears.

"It's okay." Draco tried his best to comfort her, but couldn't deny to himself the fact that he never wanted to have any kids with her anyways. He was actually rather happy with this arrangement.

"I love you Draco."

She was expecting him to answer the same way, but he couldn't say it. How could he lie to her this way? He was hastily trying to think up a reply to her words that wouldn't involve a lie, but was interrupted when Pansy put a finger to his lips and shushed him.

"Do you hear that?"

"No…"

"Listen."

Somewhere in the distance, he could hear a baby cry faintly.

"A baby," he said dumbly.

"Come on, let's find it!" Pansy said, pulling on his hand to follow her.

"Pansy! It's probably some lady taking her baby out for a walk and she's gonna think we're nutters if we go up to her."

"It's near three in the morning! Why would someone be out this late at night?"

"Well, we are, aren't we? Maybe some other people are too. People are unpredictable. Especially muggles."

"Shush Draco!" said Pansy as she tried to find the direction in which the cries were coming from.

"But Pa-"

Pansy glared at him, her blue eyes flashing dangerously and he wisely shut up. For about half an hour, they twisted and turned around the trees, trying to find the infant. The crying was getting louder and louder, and they knew they were getting closer and closer to their target.

"The baby's got to be around here somewhere!" Pansy exclaimed, weary from the long search. "Here, let's go check behind that big tree over there. Seems like a good place for someone to hide a baby."

Draco sighed and followed her without complaint. He decided that Pansy was crazy and needed some psychological help and there was nothing he could do.

"Oh my god, I found it!"

"It?"

"Well, I don't know if it's a boy or girl. After we take it home, we'll check. But for now…I'll just say it's a girl."

"What the fuck, Pansy, you want to take that _thing_ home?"

"You got a problem with that?"

"Pansy, when her mother comes to find her, she'll kill us!"

"Well, it's not like her mother wanted her!"

"Well I wonder why!"

"She'll die out here!"

"Well, then let her die, she's a bloody muggle for goodness sakes!"

"Draco, haven't you got any feelings?"

"But she's a _muggle_!"

"Draco, look at her! Look at how adorable she is! I can't possibly leave her out here to die!"

Pansy held the little crying bundle to Draco, who very reluctantly cradled it in his arms, making a face.

"Look at her. How can you say no?"

Holding the little warm bundle was an extremely new feeling to Draco. It was uncomfortable at first, but slowly it began to feel like second nature. The child, after being placed in his arms, ceased her crying, and cooed softly, her small hands reaching out of the warm bundle to touch him.

"She likes you," Pansy said dreamily. "She even stopped crying, just for you."

He stared at the small face that peeked out of the bundle. Pansy was right, he realized, this child was irresistibly beautiful. She had a bit of golden hair growing out of her head and the most adorable eyes. Big blue eyes that reminded him of a girl he used to know. A girl he tried to forget. He knew at that moment that he could not leave the poor child there, even if she was, well, a _muggle_.

"So, can I keep her?"

Draco was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

Pansy's face lit up and she took the infant from his arms and they apparated back to the manor, taking the child with them.

~

"Draco, what is the meaning of this?" asked a very curious Lucius, who apparently wasn't in a terrific mood upon returning from his business trip.

"Well…" Draco said, not knowing how to continue. Instead he looked at the infant who he was holding in his arms.

Pansy jumped right in on cue. "You see father, tonight we went on a walk and we heard a baby cry and I found her and she's so adorable I couldn't just leave her to die!"

"Pansy wants to keep her," Draco said and then added, "and so do I."

"A muggle child? A _muggle_ child? Draco, what has gotten in to you? And you plan to keep it? Raise it as one of your own? A _muggle_ child?" said Lucius, shocked at their decision.

"Please father," Pansy begged, "it's the only child I'll ever be able to have and to hold…please!"

"What do you mean?" Narcissa asked suddenly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I…" Pansy started to say, but couldn't finish.

"Pansy can't have any children, alright? The doctor lied." Draco explained to his parents.

Lucius was in shock and was momentarily silent. But he regained his composure soon and started to argue with them again. Narcissa looked like she was about to faint, and was quiet for the rest of the night.

"Please father, couldn't we keep her?"

"How can you say that? You want to take in a muggle child? What will people say? _What will people say?"_

"No one would have to know…"

"We'll just pretend she's our daughter. No one will notice," said Pansy.

"What do you mean 'no one will notice'? Everyone will notice. A baby doesn't just pop out of nowhere!"

Pansy was slowly developing a plan in her mind. Her lips curled into a mischievous smile. It would work out perfectly. She started to explain her plan to an angry Lucius.

"Father, we'll just say that since I didn't want to look like a big balloon, I had a spell put on me so that I wouldn't look pregnant. And since Draco and I have only been married for eight months, and we wouldn't want any nasty rumors, we'll say that she was born a month early, but is perfectly healthy."

Narcissa took the child from Draco's arms and examined her. "Yes, it's a girl and she can't be more than a day old. And she _is_ a darling."

"You see father," said Draco, "it would work out perfect. No one would know."

Lucius was not convinced. "And what about the doctor who was here today?"

Narcissa chuckled lightly. "Lucius, dear, you of all people should know, money is a precious tool and we have plenty of it. Give her a million galleons and she won't breathe a word."

"This is a _muggle_ child! I must emphasize, _a muggle child_! And what she won't resemble Draco or Pansy. Then what will people say?"

Narcissa chuckled again and held the baby out for Lucius to see. Now Lucius realized why Narcissa had chuckled. The baby had the same golden blond hair as Draco and had gorgeous blue eyes that looked enough like Pansy's. But Lucius was not a man who would give in easily.

"And…what about the long term effects? When she doesn't get her letter of acceptance to Hogwarts, what will we do then? Huh? Never thought of that have you? What will people say when a Malfoy doesn't get into Hogwarts? The family named would be ruined!"

Pansy could not deny that this would cause some problems. "But father, mother said money could buy anything. We'll bribe them to let her in!"

"Money can buy anything, but money cannot buy _Albus Dumbledore_!"

"Maybe he'll retire," Draco offered hopefully.

"Yes, but if she goes, what will she have to show for it? She won't be able to do a thing and they'll kick her out. People will say she's a squib. The Malfoy family has not yet produced a squib! And if we did, well…" Lucius shuddered at his own words.

"Well, who cares! Can't we just take it one step at a time? Slowly? We'll face the challenges when we get there!" Pansy's mind was set on keeping the baby.

Lucius was tired from his unsuccessful business trip, and he was ready to give in. Besides, he had to admit the child was very extraordinarily beautiful. He finally smiled. "What do you want to name her?"

"Oh you mean, we can keep her?" Draco asked uncertainly, it was too good to be true. Lucius nodded and Pansy squealed.

"Let's call her Elizabeth," Narcissa suggested. "Elizabeth was my Grandmother's name."

"No, Elizabeth is too plain. And since I'm her father, I should decide her name." Draco smiled proudly at this. "Hm…how about Rebecca?"

"Rebecca Elizabeth Malfoy. That sounds nice."

Everyone agreed that this was indeed the best name for the baby. Draco took her from Narcissa's arms and held her up for everyone to see.

"Rebecca Elizabeth Malfoy, born April 7th, welcome to the family."

TBC

A/N: yeah, this was a totally long and boring chapter. I'm totally new to this whole writing thing. The characters are like WAY weird. I'm really bad at characterization. Everyone is pretty dull in this. Anyways, I think it'll get better. And Hermione has blue eyes in this story. Are her eyes supposed to be brown? Does the book ever say? Well, who cares, in here she'll have blue eyes. I'm so sorry about the whole title thing. I had no idea that someone already had this name for their fic. But, I don't want to change it because I can't think up any other names to fit this story. Besides, I really like the song. What are flames????


	3. The Letter

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything

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Forever Never Ends

Chapter 3

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Eleven years later

Rebecca woke up that bright spring morning feeling oddly different, but try as she would, she just couldn't figure out why. She sat up from her bed and threw the smooth silky sheets aside. Something, something evidently important, was nagging incessantly at the back of her mind. Frustrated because she still didn't know what was wrong with her, she, in a fit of childish anger, punched one of the nice full pillows that adorned her bed.

"Misty!" she called, and instantly, a small cheery little house elf donned in a clean white sack appeared at her side.

"Yes, Miss Rebecca, what can I do for you?" the house elf, who was called Misty, asked merrily as she approached her master.

"I feel strange…what's wrong with me?" Rebecca asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Misty knows not what is wrong with Miss Rebecca! Misty is a bad girl. Misty is bad because she doesn't know what's wrong with Miss Rebecca! Misty is bad, bad, bad!" and with this, Misty began to hit her head against the wall, causing a rather loud racket.

Rebecca sighed deeply. House elves, although sometimes helpful, were also annoying. Why did they always think that they did something wrong?

"Misty, why don't you go back to the kitchens now."

Misty, upon hearing the order, quickly vanished into thin air. Rebecca sat there for a moment, scratching her head, before she finally settled on what she was going to do. She flipped over on her soft bed and rang the small silver bell that hung from her bedside. A moment later, a woman dressed in black and white attire appeared at her door.

"Yes, Miss Rebecca, you rang?"

"Oh yes, Julie, would you mind helping me find out what's wrong with me today? I feel a bit…peculiar and I don't know what's wrong!"

Julie stepped into the rosy room and giggled heartily. "Miss Rebecca, that might be because you're turning eleven years old today. How absolutely darling, you forgot your own birthday!"

"Yes! That's it! I can't believe I've been so stupid! Today is my birthday. I'm eleven!" Rebecca exclaimed with clear delight, her blue eyes sparkling with energy. "Oh Julie, won't you help me dress?"

Rebecca swung her legs off the bed with the grace of a princess, her two feet landing directly in her cushy lavender slippers. Without further adu, she scurried to her closet and began to flip through it for something appropriate to wear.

Julie entered the closet and approached her side. "Miss Rebecca, what do you plan to wear?"

"Oh, well I don't know."

"Miss Rebecca, might I suggest this blue robe over here. They'll bring out the color of your eyes." Julie held up a simple silky blue robe that Rebecca had never seen before. Of course this was common because she received regular shipments of designer robes, dresses, gowns, jeans, shirts, and other extravagant clothing every few days, and they were delivered right to her closet.

Rebecca observed the robe that Julie was holding up. Usually, she detested having to wear robes, but today was her birthday and grandfather just returned from a business trip. At the age of eleven, she knew well enough that her grandfather was not one who fancied muggle clothing. She wanted to please her grandfather, and besides, this robe was rather lovely. "Oh, yes, they're perfect. Help me put it on, won't you?"

For the next ten minutes, Julie helped her young master put on the flowing robe and adjust everything so that it looked no less than perfect. Then she brushed Rebecca's shiny golden hair, which naturally curled just slightly at the ends. Finally, she was done with her work, and Rebecca was ready for another day.

"Miss Rebecca, you look like an angel," Julie said adoringly, looking down at her with beaming eyes.

Rebecca giggled. "You always say that!"

"It's the truth."

Rebecca giggled again and then continued on. "Where's mother and father?"

"Oh well they're downstairs waiting for you, of course."

"Oh thanks, Julie! I must be getting myself down there then. After all, it is my birthday!" She straightened her robe and then ran down the hall, her dainty slippers clicking tenderly on the sparkling crystal floor. She descended down the stairs until she was standing right in front of the large, nicely polished French doors that led to the dining room. She quickly straightened her dress again, ran a hand through her silky hair, took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors.

"Good morning, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather," she said and in turn nodded at each of them. Then she hurried to her seat at the table, which the servingman pulled out and pushed in after she sat down.

"Happy birthday, sleepyhead," Lucius said, teasing her, as he stirred his coffee. "Eleven years old and still can't wake up on time."

"Oh but..." Rebecca started saying to defend herself, but couldn't finish because just then, dozens of owls fluttered by the window and dropped countless letters into a basket by the window. She hastily scrambled out of her chair and picked up the whole bundle of letters. This was her favorite job to do in the morning, passing out the letters to the person it was addressed to.

"Here's eleven for you, grandfather. And one for you, grandmother. And twenty seven for you father. And three for you mother."

She stopped momentarily, and studied the last letter in her hand and was quietly debating about whether or not she should tell her family about it.

"Too much Ministry work! They've been flooding me with owls!" exclaimed a very exhausted Draco in his usual annoyed drawl. 

"And even I've got a letter!" said Rebecca, finally having decided that she should probably tell her parents. She held the envelope out for them to see. "Look!"

They all gaped at what they saw. It was a big thick envelope, made of yellowish paper and the address was forged in green ink. On the other side there was a purple wax seal with a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger surrounding a letter _H_. Pansy gripped Draco's hand tightly and everyone in the room had their fingers crossed. Maybe, maybe after all, Rebecca did have a bit of wizarding blood in her.

Rebecca ignored the silence and tore open the envelope. Beads of sweat were starting to gather on Draco's forehead as he watched her scan the letter, hoping that it brought good news. Rebecca's face lit up as she read what was on the piece of parchment.

"Oh father! It says I've been accepted to Hogwarts!"

Silence.

And then everyone started jumping with joy and Pansy gave her loudest squeal and Rebecca was hugged a million times and smothered with a billion kisses. And everyone was crying tears of joy, because their greatest fear was that she wouldn't get the letter and now she did, and they had passed through that obstacle.

~

Rebecca knocked quietly on her parents' door and it opened a moment later.

"Mother, father, could I sleep with you tonight?"

Pansy hugged her young daughter, "Of course, baby."

The two of them crawled into the bed next to Draco and then Rebecca started talking about her worries and such.

"Father, did you and mother also go to Hogwarts?" Rebecca said curiously. "And if you did, how come you never told me about it? Will there be other children at Hogwarts too?"

"Yes, Becca, we did go to Hogwarts, but we didn't think that you wanted to know about it, which is why we never told you." Draco hated himself at that moment. He loved his daughter, and yet he lied to her. But he couldn't tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her that she was not their real daughter and that she was a muggle. Especially since she grew up in the manor and had heard numerous insults to muggles.

"There'll be plenty of children your age. You'll have plenty of friends," said Pansy, trying to reassure her. "And in a few days we'll take you to Diagon Alley to buy some books and wand for you!"

"Diagon Alley! I haven't been there for ages, Mother! Father, will you come too?"

Draco smiled. "Sure, Becca, anything you want."

"So, mother, how do I know who I should be friends with. What if people are mean to me? What is Hogwarts like?"

"Well, you'll be sorted into a house. There's four houses, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor."

"What house were you in?"

"We were both in Slytherin."

"So does that mean that I will be too?"

"Most likely, yes."

But Draco had some doubts about it. Becky did not act like a typical Slytherin house kind of a girl. But still, she grew up in this manor, and if they had stamped some magic into her, they probably stamped some darkness into her also. Draco and Pansy were convinced that the only reason Becky received her letter was that they had raised her and some of their magic had rubbed off on her.

"Oh yes, and if you see any kids with flaming red hair dressed in rags, you'll know they're a Weasley. You want to stay away from Weasleys, do you hear?" Pansy added.

"A Weasley? What a funny name!" Becky said, trying to suppress a giggle. "Are there lots of Weasleys at Hogwarts?"

"Probably. One thing you must know about the Weasley family is that they try and have as many children as they possibly can. Draco, dear, do you still remember that wretched Granger? Hermione Granger? Do you know what happened to her?"

This struck Draco like a lightning bolt. It had been more than eleven years, and her name still brought fresh memories. Hearing her name was like opening a deep wound again, like someone ripping out his heart. For years he had tried to cover this wound, but upon hearing her name, his wound was opened again. This brought anger. Anger that he could not suppress. He gritted his teeth.

"Granger? Probably married to Weasley and punching out their tenth child."

"Draco! You know perfectly well that Ron Weasley is married to Parvati! He works in your department, doesn't he?"

By now, Becky had already fallen into a deep sleep. 

"Pansy, can't you just let me sleep?"

"Fine, go to sleep." Pansy turned off the lights and fell into a deep sleep.

But Draco could not sleep that night. Her image and their memories played over and over again in his mind. After a very long time he looked over to the clock sitting on the wall. Four fifty-seven, it said. Draco sighed, he closed his eyes and was pulled into a dream. A dream of his past. A dream of _her_.

TBC

A/N: ok, another boring chapter. But I think the next chapter will be better. I hope, anyways. 


	4. The Return

****

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 4

Erica's eyes fluttered open slowly and she turned around on her bed to look at the time on her alarm clock. Four fifty seven.

_Damn, why the hell did I wake up so early?_

Knowing that she would not be able to fall asleep again, she furiously rose from her bed, and stood in front of her dresser mirror to get a good look at herself. Her light brown hair was tangled and dark bags sat under her sleepy blue eyes.

_I look like a fucking mess._

Turning away from the image in the mirror, she stepped quietly into the hall of her small, modest house and turned on the coffeemaker. She sat down in a beaten-up wooden chair at the circular kitchen table and tried to remember what exactly had awakened her from her slumber. Perhaps, she thought, it was a dream. What that dream was, or what the content of that dream was, was hidden in the dark corners of her mind, concealing it from herself.

The aroma of the coffee soon filled up her kitchen and she pulled herself out of the chair and over to the kitchen counter where she poured herself a cup of it. She then buried herself in all the papers on the kitchen table. Bills, orders, and other junk that she had been too tired to work out the night before.

Erica Gilner, indeed, was a strange woman. All her neighbors agreed. She owned a small bookstore on the west side of London and the business was pretty good. Well, enough for her to support herself, anyways. She was a quiet, non-social woman who hated publicity of any sort. The neighbors remembered the day that she had moved into the small red brick house in which she currently resided in. On that day, nine years ago, she had come driving up the street in a small silver car, and from then on, the neighborhood had not been able to rid itself of the smell of coffee. That was about all she drank, or ate for that matter. They knew nothing of her past life, only that she had been living in an apartment for about two years before she moved here. Erica was a pretty woman, with silky brown hair and bright blue eyes, but she never attended any socials, never went on any dates, and never returned any phone calls unless it had to do with her work.

It was seven o'clock when Erica finally finished with all her work. She returned to her room where she brushed her hair and curled it in slightly at the ends. She then applied some concealer to cover her baggy eyes and dabbed on some lipstick. She put on a nice blue business suit that enhanced her eyes. She was done by seven twenty and knew she had plenty of time to get to her bookstore before it opened, at eight. Or maybe nine, she thought, depending on which day it happened to be. She walked into the kitchen again and flipped through it calendar. Today was a Thursday, she so needed to be at the store at eight. She was about to put the calendar away when something caught her eye. It was a Thursday, yes. But it wasn't just any Thursday. It was Thursday, April 7th.

_Fuck._

Her eyes closed.

_April 7th…if she was alive…_

Erica opened her eyes and resolved not to think about it anymore. She had been trying to push it out of her mind for years. She was actually getting quite good at forgetting things by now. Peering at her watch, she realized that she had approximately half an hour to arrive at her bookstore. Erica headed towards the front door, but stopped suddenly when a single letter slid down the mail slot in the door.

Erica was curious. She bent down slowly to pick up the envelope and turned it over in her hands. For a moment, she almost didn't recognize the name that it was addressed to in emerald green ink. She moved her fingers over the ink lightly, as she closed her eyes, as if searching for lost memories. Quickly, she flipped to the backside of the envelope, which was branded with a purple wax seal.

_Green ink…purple wax seal…_

She carried the envelope in her shaking hands and she slowly sat down again at her kitchen counter. She opened the envelope, so slow, so painfully slow that minutes passed before she finally pulled the letter out. Erica closed her eyes and took a deep breath before unfolding the letter and scanning over the parchment.

_Oh God._

She closed her eyes again and clutched the letter tightly in her hand. That split second, she made a decision, and she knew what she must do. She hurried to her bedroom, got out a suitcase, threw in some clothes, gathered some belongings and then went to search for a mark on the carpet - a mark that she had made nine years ago when she had first moved into the house. Although it was somewhat faded through time, she found it. Using a knife from the kitchen she began to hack away at the carpet. There was a secret compartment under the beige carpet of her home, a secret compartment that held her most treasured possession. She opened the compartment slowly, and inside was a small rectangular box. She lifted the box out and opened the lid.

To any other person in the world, the content of the box would have seemed like a child's toy. It looked rather like a regular wooden stick except for the fact that it was nicely polished and cut. Like a wand. Erica touched it for the first time in eleven years and felt something sizzle through her.

_Nine inches…holly…phoenix feather… _

Erica picked it up carefully and gave it a small diagnostic wave. It was still as good as it used to be. She knew it was time. Forgetting about her bookstore and everything else in the world, she concentrated deeply on one thought, and then she disappeared with a small pop.

~

When Erica opened her eyes, she was standing at the entrance to a small village or town of some sort. A very familiar place. A large sign hung over her head and she squinted to read it. Hogsmeade, that was the name of the place. She turned around and started walking down a narrow, dirt path road away from the village. A very familiar dirt path road. She knew exactly where she was going.

Soon, she approached a bend in the road, and she rewarded with a glimpse of a magnificent castle perched on a mountain. Its towers and turrets stood tall and proudly, as it always had. She knew she was almost to her destination. 

A little while later, she found herself standing before a set of great stone steps. She gulped. This was it. Gathering up all her courage, she dragged herself and her suitcase up the steps until she standing right in front of a great oak door. She was nervous. She even considered leaving right then. But, she regained her composure, straightened herself and put up a fist to knock on the door.

Her hand never touched the door, for it swung open right before her hand touched it. She was in absolute shock. Standing in front of her was an old man. Long white hair and beard. Blue eyes. Half moon spectacles. 

_Albus Dumbledore._

They were silent. She herself was at a loss for words. She did not know what to say, nor could say anything at that point, for that matter. The old man smiled at her joyously and then finally broke the silence with his deep warming voice.

"Welcome back, Hermione Granger."

TBC

A/N: sorry I never mentioned that from chapter 3 on, everything is 11 years after what happens in chapter 1 and 2.


	5. The New Professor

****

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 5

"Welcome back, Hermione Granger."

She was in absolute shock. No, she was petrified. This was the first time in eleven years that she had heard her name. Her _real_ name. _Hermione Granger._ She stood there, looking stupefied at the man for a moment, and then her face broke into the first real smile she had had in years. That simple smile transformed her from the weary looking young woman she had been a moment earlier into a radiant school girl, who was enjoying the wonders of everyday life.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

"Miss Granger, I suppose you are very tired from your long journey. Would you like me to show you to your room?"

Hermione nodded quietly and began to follow the headmaster as he led her up the grand staircase, through hallways that she had never known were there and up countless numbers of stairways. Finally, they arrived at a large portrait of a blooming waterlily. Dumbledore flicked his wand once, and the portrait swung open to reveal a secret passageway. At the end of the passageway there was one single door.

"Behind the door are your new quarters. You may use whatever measures necessary to insure your privacy."

Hermione stepped inside the hole behind the portrait. "Thank you, Professor, for everything."

Dumbledore sighed, but still wearing a faint smile on his aged face. "Miss Granger, you cannot hide forever. I am proud that at last you have made this decision. Dinner is at six o'clock in the Great Hall. Might I suggest you get some rest before that time." 

With one last smile, Professor Dumbledore swung the portrait back into place and left.

Hermione made her way gradually through the lighted passageway. She ran her fingers along the smooth tan colored wall, enjoying the texture. When she arrived at the door, she put a hand up to the knob, turned it, and pushed the door open. What met her eyes was breathtaking. Behind the door was a spacious and luxurious room with a large bed and beautiful furniture. On the wall to the left, there was a door. Hermione approached the door and preceeded to open it. Inside was a magnificent bathroom with a humongous bathtub and shower. 

Liking her new room a lot, Hermione sat down on her new bed and rummaged in her suitcase. Soon, her hands found what they were searching for. She held the letter that she had received that morning, and started to read through it again, just to make sure everything was real and this wasn't just a dream.

Hogwarts School

of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Dear Ms. Granger,

Due to the untimely retirement of a professor, the school is in need of a new teacher for the class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. I believe that you are a well-suited candidate for this position. If you would like to accept this offer, please either send a return owl immediately or arrive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by no later than April 10. We will be awaiting your answer.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore,

__

Headmaster

It had to be real. This couldn't be a dream. To be certain, she pinched herself hard on her left arm, and waited as the pain faded away slowly. She didn't wake up.

Feeling much reassured, she climbed into bed and fell into the only real sleep she had gotten in years.

~

There was a loud knock at his door. He decided to ignore it and continue the mountains of paperwork that he must finish by the next day. These days the Ministry was very busy. The whole wizarding community was preparing for the day that Voldemort would suddenly attack again. Voldemort had disappeared twelve years ago, but numerous sources informed them that he had been secretly gaining power these past years and would attack soon. The paperwork strewn all over his desk was of codes, messages and other important information that he must decode.

The knocking on his office door became more persistent. He didn't need to look up to hear the doorknob turn and the door creak open. He was going to kill him.

"Dammit, Blaylock, well you just fucking leave me alone?!" he yelled, not looking up from his desk.

There was no answer. He looked up from his work at the intruder.

_Shit._

He rubbed his temples.

"Ron! Why have you been in such a foul mood in the past few weeks? And treating me like scum!"

"I'm sorry, Parvati, I didn't know it was you. I thought it was that idiot Blaylock again."

Parvati walked towards her frustrated husband. She reallocated some of the papers off his desk and created a clean space where she then sat down on.

"I hope you're not mad at me. I was just…passing by…and I decided…that maybe I should…come and see you!"

"No, no, of course not. What's the real reason you're here?"

Parvati hesitated for a moment, but then continued on confidently. "Oh Ron! I've got the _best_ idea!"

"For what?"

"I miss my friends from Hogwarts terribly and some of them I haven't seen in _years_, even if I still keep in touch with all of them. But writing letters is just not the same as talking to them face to face!"

"So?"

Parvati grinned. "Well, I know that maybe you won't agree with me. But…I want to throw a Hogwarts reunion at our house."

"Go ahead," Ron said, not giving a thought to it.

"Alright, but I need your help."

Ron sighed deeply. "Parvati! What could I possibly help you with?"

"Oh do stop sighing Ron! It makes me feel like a pest! Alright, as I was saying, I want to invite all our friends over…but I'll need help finding some of their addresses."

"And you think that just because I work at the Ministry I'll be able to get those addresses for you? Well, guess what, you're wrong."

"Please, Ron, this means so much to me. Besides, there's only one person I really need help finding, just one person. Please?"

Ron thought about this for a moment. Well, she just wanted him to find one person. It shouldn't take up too much of his time. So he nodded. He opened his desk drawer, reached in, and pulled out a notepad.

"Name?"

"Hermione Granger."

Ron was so started he nearly jumped a foot in the air. He and his wife had never brought up the subject of her before. He didn't want to talk about it. It brought unpleasant memories that he didn't want to remember. Just the thought of her made his anger burn.

"I don't know! Maybe she did the whole world a favor and drowned herself. I wish she did!"

"Ron! How could you say that, she was one of your best friends at school!"

"Things change! People change!"

"Please?"

"You know what, the whole reunion thing is a bad idea, Parvati! Go home and bake something for goodness sakes."

She ignored his comment stubbornly and continued on. "You must know _something_ about her whereabouts!"

Ron was getting very frustrated. No, more like enraged. "Dammit Parvati, I have no idea! After graduation she just disappeared, okay? No one could find her, and her parents couldn't even find her! The whole wizarding world was looked for her! For all I know she's dead!"

"Fine, don't help me. I'll just find out by myself!"

"How can you solve a mystery that even experts couldn't?"

"That's my business!"

"Parvarti, _get out of my office_. I want to finish my work."

"Fine, Ron, have a _great_ day!" And with that, Parvarti spun around and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

_Yeah I will_, thought Ron as he slumped down and rested his head on the desk. _Dammit Hermione, why'd you do this to me?_

~

Hermione awoke from her sleep feeling refreshed and energetic – a feeling she hadn't experienced in years. She gave a big yawn and stretched her body. She glanced at the large oak grandfather clock that sat vigilantly in a corner of her room. The oak color matched perfectly with the cream colored walls. The clock read five forty five. She would need to hurry in order to clean up and arrive on time for dinner.

She removed the crisp blue business suit she was wearing and searched for something suitable to wear. When she left the wizarding world, she had disposed of all her robes because she would no longer have need for them. But she could not bear to snap her beloved wand, so she had kept it locked away. 

She opened her suitcase and attempted to find something to wear. All the other professors would be dressed in wizarding robes. If she didn't wear robes, the others would scrutinize her. But she had no choice but to put on some of the muggle clothing she had brought with her. After all, they couldn't blame her if she really didn't have any robes at the moment. She dressed herself in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white v-neck shirt. If the other teachers didn't approve, well, they would just have to deal with it.

Picking up the brush from her suitcase, she began to brush out her silky brown hair. Yes, silky. No longer was her hair a tangled bushy mess. In the summer before her seventh year, she had cast a spell on her hair so that it would stay smooth and shiny. The spell was permanent, and still bore its effects even after she left. But of course, there were some flaws in the spell. For instance, sometimes if her hair was wet, it would curl a bit, or sometimes if she was stressed, it would also curl. Her hair was of medium length, a falling to a few inches below her shoulder. Although she was rather quiet and non-social in the muggle world, she still tried to keep herself looking as good as she possibly could.

After she was ready, she put a few locking charms on her room, and began to make her way down to the Great Hall. This journey was hard for her. She had no idea what people would think of her. She didn't want anyone to hate her. But she was curious and wondered which teachers still taught at Hogwarts.

Hermione was a good memorizer, and had no trouble finding her way to the Great Hall from her room. The door to the place was open. She peeked in and saw that all the other teachers were already seated, but had not started eating.

_Probably waiting for me._

She knew she was late. She wanted to be on time to make a good impression, but it just didn't happen. She didn't care anymore. Hermione straightened her back and courageously stepped into the room.

~

"Albus, I heard that you've already hired a new person to fill in the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Minerva McGonagall.

"Yes, it was unfortunate that Fleur had to resign due to the fact that her husband Bill received another job offer in Egypt, and she was obligated to move there with him."

"But their child, Jonathan, he will be staying here to finish school, will he not?" asked McGonagall.

"Yes, he will be living with his uncle."

"Very unfortunate that she had to resign," said Flitwick. "She was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts the school has had in a century!"

"Oh, the students will sure miss her," said McGonagall, sadly.

All the teachers were seated in the Great Hall discussing about the new mystery teacher, and waiting for her to arrive before they would start eating.

"Albus, are you sure this new person will be sufficient enough to be able to live up to Fleur? Defense Against the Dark Arts is a very challenging class to teach, and very important in life," Snape said, giving his usual sneer.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I have absolutely no doubt that the young lady taking Fleur's space will be able to teach as well as her, if not, better."

"Yes, well someone should teach her to come to dinner on time!" said Snape, getting a bit frustrated because his stomach was growling.

"Albus, who is this mystery person you have hired? Maybe you should have consulted the rest of us before you made your decision. I'm not very sure that I might agree with your decision," said McGonagall.

"Oh, rest assured, you will love her!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

At that exact moment, the staff saw a young lady step nervously into the Great Hall. She was dressed as a muggle and seemed a bit unsure of herself. All of the teachers thought she looked terribly familiar. Brown hair. Blue eyes. She looked so familiar, but they couldn't put a name on her.

Dumbledore stood up, smiled, and held a welcoming hand to her. She walked nervously around to him and took his hand.

"May I welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Miss Hermione Granger."

They all gaped.

McGonagall was the first to recover from this surprise and patted the space beside her. "Do sit down, Hermione."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said as she took her seat.

"I believe that you may call us by our first names, Hermione, seeing that you are no longer a student. You are now part of the staff."

"Yes," she said as she nodded.

Hermione was expecting a flood of questions, not that she would ever answer them. But, much to her delight, nobody asked about her past. If they had asked, she would have lied. The conversation was light and cheerful.

Hermione asked why there were no students on the campus and yet school didn't end until the end of June. They explained to her the reason. One month before, a child had accidentally fallen out the window on one of the towers. She did not die, but was gravely injured. By the order of the Ministry, all of the students at Hogwarts were sent home early. The administration cast a few spells over the castle that would prevent any more students from having such unfortunate accidents.

After an hour, a few of the teachers muttered some excuses and left. Hermione followed suit. She began to make her way up to her room, thinking about how the school stayed basically the same after all these years.

"Hermione."

She was startled to hear someone say her name and spun around to face the speaker. The greasy black hair, menacing black eyes. It was Snape.

"Prof-I mean, Severus, did you call on me?"

Severus blushed and his eyes softened. "Uh…I was just thinking…that…uh…maybe…uh…I could…uh…walk you back…to your room."

Severus Snape could not remember the last time he had blushed so red. After first seeing her, he could not take his eyes off her during dinner. The years had changed her, he could tell. She no longer acted like such a know-it-all, but was rather shy and conservative. He had to admit to himself that he was rather attracted to her.

Hermione smiled gently at him. The years certainly had changed her. The hate for Severus had worn off and she decided to give him a second chance, just as Dumbledore had given her one.

"Sure," she said, and her face turned the same color as Severus'.

She continued walking toward her room, with Severus tagging along beside her. They were both quiet, and felt uncomfortable. Finally, Severus attempted to try and start a conversation.

"So, uh, why are you dressed like-like…"

"A muggle?"

He nodded.

"Well, I haven't got any robes."

"Why not?" he asked dumbly, even though the answer was apparent.

"After…well, I just don't have any," she didn't want to say anymore. The conversation was heading towards a subject she did not want to hit at the moment.

"Are you going to always dress like this?"

Hermione laughed. She couldn't believe that Severus thought that she was going to going to wear muggles clothes forever. "Heavens, no! I'll be going down to Diagon Alley sometime in the next few days, maybe tomorrow, and get something suitable to wear."

They arrived at the portrait of the waterlily.

"Well, uh, I better get going," said Severus. "Well, good night."

"Goodnight, Severus."

He watched as Hermione waved her wand, and the portrait swung open. She climbed in slowly, and waved at him before she closed the portrait.

Severus walked back to him room, thinking about her the whole way. He liked the way that she said his name. He couldn't believe she said goodnight to him. He wondered what she thought of him. Even though their conversation was short, he enjoyed every minute of it. Maybe she did too.

_God, Severus, you are such an idiot, she probably hates you_

He stopped walking and sighed. Yes, she probably hated him. After all, he certainly wasn't the nicest teacher to her back in her days at Hogwarts. He wished that he could make it up to her somehow.

Severus found it hard to sleep that night. He liked Hermione, but he knew that she would refuse him. It was almost two o'clock before he finally was able to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

TBC

A/N: Hey everybody who has read this, please review!!! Thanks bunches to people who have reviewed!! If you haven't you should, hehehehehe!!!! *sniff* please?? Alright, I'm acting stupid. Well, I always act stupid, hehehe. 


	6. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: *sniff* I don't own anything

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 6

            "Mother, father, where are we going? I thought we were going to go to Diagon Alley!" Becky asked curiously, as her parents led her to a room in the manor that she had never known was there before.

            "Becky, baby, we are going there," replied Draco.

            "But, father, shouldn't we be going to room with a fireplace? You can't get anywhere with Floo powder without a fireplace!"

            Pansy chuckled. "Oh, Becky, silly, there's other ways to get to places."

            "Yes, that's absolutely right," said Draco. "There are better ways of traveling. Besides, I won't have my precious daughter showing up in public with ashes from the fireplace!"

            Draco quickly walked to the desk sitting at the opposite side of the room. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a small marble ball. He muttered a spell and then walked back to his wife and daughter.

            "I have just turned this marble into a portkey, Becky. Touch it."

            Becky and Pansy both reached out to touch the small object that Draco held in his fingers. Instantly, all three of them felt a jerk behind their navel and felt everything rushing past them. Seconds later, they opened their eyes and found that they were standing beside a brick wall. They looked around and saw that they were in Diagon Alley. The place was very crowded today because it was a Saturday and a lot of people were off work. 

            The first place that they went to was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Becky had robes at home. In fact, Becky had many robes. They were all expensive designer brands and had been perfectly measured and made to fit her. But, they weren't the kind that one could normally wear to school. Madam Malkin's was a good place for getting nice, school uniform robes.

            Becky entered the shop and met Madam Malkin. She was a nice, cheerful witch and today she was wearing a beautiful rose colored robe.

            "Hogwarts?"

            "Yes," Becky replied quietly.

            Madam Malkin slipped a large robe over Becky's head and began to pin it to the right size and length. Becky felt rather uncomfortable. She was terrified to move, fearing that the pins might poke her. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Madam Malkin was finally done. She took the new robes, wrapped them up in brown paper, tied some string around it, and handed the bundle to Becky.

            "Thanks," she muttered before walking out of the store with her parents.

            The next place they went to was the Apothecary. The place smelled like a dump. No, it smelled worse. But it was a terribly interesting place. In the Apothecary, Becky bought everything that she needed for Potions class, and then went to purchase a nice pewter cauldron, and other various objects she needed.

            Their next stop was a book shop called Flourish and Blotts. Inside were rows and rows of shelves filled with books. Becky was fascinated. She loved books.

            "Doing a bit of early Hogwarts shopping, eh?" asked the shopkeeper. "Would you like some help?"

            "Yes, please," said Becky as she handed the man her list of school books.

            The old man shook his head at the list she held out. "First year?"

            "Yes."

            He ignored Becky's outstretched hand and pointing to his head, he said, "I've got it all here. Been working here forty years. Books are the same every year. You'd think I'd know all of them."

            He walked off towards the middle of the store and quickly pulled out a few books and carried them to the check out counter.

            "Is that all?"

            Becky did not hear him because she was looking intently at a thick book on a nearby shelf.

            The old man asked again, and this time she heard him.

            "I would like that book also. The big one on the shelf."

            "Ah, yes, a very good book. _Hogwarts, a History_. Good choice." He walked over and pulled the book out of the shelf and laid it on the desk with the other books. "Twenty four galleons and three knuts."

            Draco paid the amount and then the three of them left the shop for Ollivanders. On the way there, Pansy met with a friend of hers, Blaise Zambini. Pansy and Blaise left for the Leaky Cauldron to talk, and Draco took Becky to the wand shop. As they stepped inside, a bell tinkled and an old wizard stepped out of the shadows.

            "I thought I'd be seeing you soon, Rebecca Malfoy."

            Becky gasped. This creepy old man actually knew her name. The wizard came closer to her and started measuring her body and recording it.

            "You have your mother's eyes. She was a very beautiful and brilliant young lady."

            Becky thought about his words for a second. Sure, she supposed her and her mother's eyes were close enough alike. They were both blue, but aside from that, there was not such similarity.

            Mr. Ollivander left her side and disappeared behind the shelves. He returned a few minutes later with a stack of rectangular boxes. He opened each box, and inside each was a wand. He passed each wand to her, and she tried waving each of them, but none was good for her. After half an hour of waving wands, Becky finally found the right one. When she first touched it, she felt a warmth spread through her body, and when she waved it, golden sparks erupted.

            "Ah, holly and phoenix feather, nine and three fourth inches. Very much like your mother's." And with this last comment, he put the wand back into the box, handed the box back to Becky and said, "Seven galleons."

            Draco paid the old wizard and then he and Becky walked out of the shop together and headed towards the animal shop.

            "Becky, you stay here and find something you want. I'm gonna go check on your mother. I'll be back soon," Draco said after they were in the shop.

            "Okay."

            Draco turned to leave the shop and disappeared down the street.

            Becky looked around the shop, trying to find an animal that she would like. She spotted a pretty, golden brown colored owl and rushed over to see it closer.

            At that moment, the shop door opened, and a young woman dressed in muggle clothing stepped into the store.

~

            Hermione Granger was tired from a long morning of shopping. She had bought some new robes, books, and some other objects. After the death of Crookshanks, which she didn't want to think about at the moment, she never owned a pet again. But now, she believed she was ready and she entered the newly built animal shop in Diagon Alley. 

            The minute she stepped in, she saw a beautiful golden brown colored owl and was mesmerized. She knew this was the pet she wanted. Hermione quickly walked over to claim the animal, but when she got there, she realized another child was there, admiring its beauty.

            The child had long locks of soft golden hair. Hermione stared at the child.

            _The hair…so familiar…_

            Becky sensed that someone was watching her, and quickly spun around and faced the person who stood behind her.

            "Hi," said Becky, not knowing what else to say to this woman whose eyes looked so much like her own.

            Hermione smiled. "Hi, were you looking at the owl?"

            "Yes…"

            "Are you going to buy it?"

            "Well, I really like this owl, but I also really want to get a cat. I can't make up my mind. Are you going to buy this owl?"

            "Well, I would like to, if you aren't."

            "Oh, since you like this owl, I'll just get a cat."

            Hermione was surprised by this girl's generosity. Usually children this age were terribly selfish.

            "Are you starting school soon?"

            "Yes, I'll be starting Hogwarts this fall, actually. My first year. I do hope the teachers are nice."

            "Oh, so you will be one of my students."

            Becky gasped. "You're one of the teachers?"

            "Yes, in fact, I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione answered.

            "Oh, well, it's nice meeting you."

            "Yes, I need to be going soon. Are you sure you won't mind if I buy this owl?"

            "Oh, no, go ahead. I'll just go pick out one of those pretty cats over there."

            "Thank you so much!" Hermione smiled at the girl again, took the cage with the owl, paid for it and then left the store.

            Hermione was in a good mood. She had just met one of her soon to be students. If all the children were as nice as the girl then teaching would be a breeze. She was so preoccupied with thoughts that she didn't see the man walking towards her. The two of them accidentally bumped into each other, causing Hermione to drop her new books.

            "Sorry," Hermione muttered as she bent down to pick up the books.

            "No, no, no, it's all my fault," said the man. "Let me help you."

            _Damn…where have I heard that voice?_

            "No, it's alright, I've got it," said Hermione, still gathering up the books. "But thanks anyways."

            The man hesitated for a moment, and then walked away. When Hermione finally finished picking up her books and looked up, he was already gone.

~

            Draco Malfoy left his daughter at the animal shop and started heading towards the Leaky Cauldron to find his wife. The thought of the things that Mr. Ollivander had said and it puzzled him.

            _Pansy…brilliant?…couldn't be…_

            After arriving at the bar, he conversed with his wife and her friend Blaise for a while. The conversation was pointless and boring, centered around shopping and clothes. Pansy was not the most interesting person to be around. Although Pansy was a good and faithful wife to him, Draco did not love her.

            Soon, he left the Leaky Cauldron to return to his daughter. He had been at the bar for quite a while, and he hoped that Becky was okay. Draco walked fast to try to get to his daughter as soon as possible. He was still playing Mr. Ollivander's comments again and again in his mind and trying to find sense in his words. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the woman walking towards him and they collided. Her books dropped from her arms and she bent down to pick them up.

            "Sorry," she said, with her face down, scrambling to gather all her books. Her shiny brown hair slid down to her face, and she moved a hand to tuck it back.

            _Brown hair…_

            "No, no, no, it's all my fault," Draco said, sincerely. He wanted to help her out. He bent down to her. "Let me help you."

            "No, it's alright, I've got it," the woman said.

            _That voice…so familiar…_

He hesitated, wondering if he should ask her for her name.

            _No, she'd think I'm a nutcase…_

            He turned around swiftly and continued down the street to find his daughter.

~

            Hermione was exhausted from shopping at Diagon Alley the whole morning. When she returned to Hogwarts, she retired to her room where she rested for a while, and then tried on the new robes that she had bought. She had a hard time deciding which one she wanted to wear first, but finally settled on dressing in the pale blue one. The new books that she had purchased earlier in the day were on her big oak desk, where she had left them earlier. 

She picked up these books and left her room to see the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where she would be teaching in the fall. It was the same classroom that was used in her days at the school, and she was still very familiar with how it looked. Only, now, the walls were lined with tanks full of weird creatures. She went around trying to identify each animal, but found that she was unable to do so. She had forgotten so much during her years of isolation.

            Hermione moved to the teacher's desk and touched it lightly. She sat down, still running her hand over the smooth surface. In her other hand, she held the books that she had brought. Giving a great sigh, and being terribly dismayed at the fact that she forgot many of the things she had learned at school, she started to read through the books, hoping to recover the knowledge she once had. After all, if she was to be the teacher, she must know everything.

            She was frustrated and discouraged that she no longer held the knowledge that she used to have. Suddenly, bringing her out of her thoughts, she heard the door knob turn and the door swing open. Looking up, she saw Severus Snape step in. He obviously did not see her.

            "Good afternoon, Severus."

            Severus was started. He had thought that the room was empty. "Hermione! What are you doing here?"

            "Well, this is _my_ classroom, you know. I should be asking you the same thing," she said, as she got up from her seat and headed towards him.

            "I'm sorry to be intruding. I had no idea you would be here. I've been coming in here everyday to feed the animals," he said, pointing to the creatures in the tanks.

            "Oh, I see."

            "What are you doing?"

            "Oh, well, I thought I had better read through all the course books. It's been a while. I wouldn't want to be a bad teacher."

            "Of course you wouldn't be! You were the brightest student Hogwarts had had in a century!"

            _Yeah, much good that did for me_, Hermione thought bitterly. "Oh. Well, things have changed."

            There was a pause. "You were the school's most promising student. We expected you to do great things."

            Hermione felt tears filling up her eyes and ducked her head so that Severus wouldn't see. "I'm sorry I let everyone down."

            Severus saw the tears collecting in her eyes and wanted to comfort her, but he also wanted answers. "What happened?"

            Hermione shook her head, still not ready to talk about the subject. "Life. Life happened. And it killed all my dreams."

            "Why?"

            Tears were gliding down her face freely now. "I don't know what happened! I don't know why! I didn't ask for it! But it found me!"

            He held his arm out and put his hand on her shoulder to draw her closer. She put her head on his shoulder and cried onto his dark robes.

            "Oh, god, I wanted to do so much! And now I'm just a failure…a failure. Look at me, I'm pitiful! I can't even remember everything I've learned. I feel so…hopeless."

            Severus held her tightly in his arms, enjoying the warmth. "Everything you forget, you can relearn. I will help you. I promise."

            "That won't change anything!" said Hermione, lifting her head from his shoulder, and as if realizing for the first time that she had been hugging Severus Snape, she gasped and stepped back from his embrace.

            "Hermione, what happened? Tell me," said Severus. He knew he should not be asking something like this at a time like this, but his curiously got the better of him.

            Hermione turned around so her back was facing Severus. "I…I…I can't."

            "Hermione, sooner or later you will have to face your past."

            "A past that I've tried to hard to forget. A past I don't want to remember."

            "Your memories are a part of you, Hermione. Don't push them away…embrace them…for that is when you shall find peace."

            Severus stepped up to her and circled his arms around her, trying to comfort her. Hermione made no attempt to push him away, but fell into his embrace. She sobbed quietly, with her head lying on his shoulder. She didn't want the memories to come back. For the past decade, her goal in life had been to forget them, and forget that they had ever existed. But, now, she knew it was time to start to gather up her past, even if it would cause her great pain. And it did, for later that evening, they came back, slowly and painfully as she knew they would.

TBC

A/N: hey everybody…I'm not sure if I spelled blaise's last name right…hm…. who knows. And yes, this IS d/hr, but it doesn't seem so at this moment. I think it's sad that draco and hermione met, but they didn't know it was each other…hahaha…I'm evil. I hope they meet up soon, but you know, that really depends. Reviews really inspire me…*hint* *hint*!!!!! Yeah, if you like this story…please review…becuz reviews really seriously inspire me a lot and it helps me write faster…hehehe. And I haven't got many reviews lately…kinda disheartened :( 


	7. I Am No Death Eater

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: this chapter is NOT a flashback…I think I might have said in the last chapter that this chapter was gonna be a flashback…but it turned out not to be…the next chapter, meaning the one after this one, will definitely be a flashback…I think, anyways.

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 7

Draco strode uneasily through the halls of the Malfoy Manor, a feeling of dread running through him. He was in a rather unfamiliar part of the manor. It was not decorated in the usual warm and homely manner. Instead, it was dark, and looked quite unkept, with cobwebs here and there. It was quiet, too unusually quiet. He had rarely been in this part of the manor, and thinking back brought unpleasant memories. The place was dark and shadowy, but the candle which he held gave off enough light for him to see the door which he approached. The door, made of redwood, looked from the dimness of the light, much like it was painted of blood. Draco shivered and then put a fist up to knock.

"Enter."

Draco turned the knob and slowly opened the door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The room was large and well decorated, although not rather welcoming. It gave Draco the chills. Standing before him was a cloaked figure, who, at the moment, was faced the opposite way, with his backside facing Draco.

"Father, you called."

The cloaked figure turned around and their eyes connected for a brief second before he pulled them away.

"Yes, my son."

Draco watched as his father, Lucius Malfoy slowly lowered himself into the ebony chair. His dark hair was beginning to gray with age and he looked very much like a tired old man, although the truth was far from that.

"You understand why I have called you here."

"No, Father."

Lucius Malfoy sighed a deep sigh. "You know. Do not lie to yourself."

Draco did not speak.

"_He has returned_."

Draco was silent again, with his head looking towards the ground.

"I have felt the mark burn. It has been getting darker and darker. Do you not feel it too?"

Draco jerked his head up upon hearing Lucius' words. "I am no Death Eater, Father."

"And what have you to say about the mark that lies on your arm?"

Draco jerked his arm away protectively, but did not answer.

Lucius chuckled lightly. "Do not deny the Dark Lord, my son. He _has_ returned. He _has_ regained his power. And he _will_ take over the wizarding world. It is best to follow in his service."

"I repeat, Father, I am no Death Eater."

Lucius was enraged. "_Then what have you to say about the mark that adorns your arm?_" He rose quickly from the chair and grasped Draco's arm. Lucius looked old, but his strength was uncomparable. He quickly pulled up the sleeve of Draco's shirt. Draco turned his face away, not wanting to see. "_Look at it_, it is impossible to deny."

Draco looked on his arm and saw the mark that sat upon it, unable to be wiped off. He had tried, he remembered, when he had first received it. He had tried desperately. He had tried wash it off. But it wouldn't come off. He had tried to curse it off, but nothing worked. So finally he had taken a knife and cut it off. But when his wound had healed, the mark had returned. After that, he had just tried to pretend it wasn't there. He pretended that he had never been branded with that hideous mark. He pretended that he was just a normal wizard. He pretended that he was not a Death Eater.

"The mark can never be taken off, Draco, my son. It lives inside of you. It runs through your veins. You are a servant of the Dark Lord. Do not deny it."

Draco finally spoke up, his voice quivering. "I was not my choice."

Lucius chuckled sinisterly. "My son, the mark can only be administered to the willing."

Tears stung in Draco's eyes, but he did not let them fall. After all, he was not a person who could cry easily. When he was still a small child, his father would not allow him to cry, and when he did, he was heavily punished for it. Lucius always said that tears showed weakness, and he didn't want his son to be a weakling, or show any weakness, especially because they were Malfoys and he was to follow the Dark Lord. So, since the time he was still young, still a child, Draco had never let even one tear fall. Well, there was one time, but had been so long ago, and he tried not to think about it. He was good at containing his feelings. He had always been good at it. Just as good as he was at containing his tears.

Lucius let go of his son's arm and walked back to his ebony chair. "The Dark Lord has returned, and you and I will join him as his followers when he calls upon us."

"No, _never_!"

"Draco, he awards those who are loyal to him. You will be rewarded greatly."

"I am contented with my life. I don't need anything." _Well, not really,_ he thought to himself, _I hate my life._

"Do _not_ lie to me, Draco, I can see right through you."

If this had been a conversation with another person, Draco would have showed his extensive knowledge of cuss words. But, it was not another person, it was his father. No matter how angry he had ever been at him, Lucius was still his father and he had learned at a very young age to treat his father with the utmost respect. Draco kept silent, feeling that if he spoke up, unpleasant things would jump out of his mouth.

Lucius continued on. "_You_, Draco, _you_ are a _Malfoy_. _You_ are _my son_. _Everything_ I have done is for _you_."

Draco glared at his father. "Everything you have done is for me?" he chuckled bitterly, feeling very skeptical at his father's words. "_You have taken away everything that has ever mattered to me!_"

"I am your father, Draco, and you will listen to me. You will obey my commands." Lucius was starting to get impatient and he looked like he wanted to add something else but wasn't sure if he should. After debating with himself, he said what he had wanted to say. "Or else you will suffer dire consequences."

Draco stared at him. 

"Draco, my son. Do you remember the uh…little incident twelve years ago?"

"I will _never_ forget it. And I will _never_ forgive you," Draco spat out hatefully. The memories still haunted him, even though so many years had passed.

Lucius smiled. "Consider that…as a preview of worse things to come if you do not obey my commands. I have the power to make your life hell."

_It already is._

"Come, Draco, listen to me."

"I've already lost everything. Nothing matters anymore," Draco lied. There were still plenty of people he still cared about. For instance, his mother, his daughter, and maybe Pansy. Just a little. After all, he didn't want anyone to _die_. Well, maybe he wouldn't mind if Pansy did. But Draco was not worried about these people. Lucius would not harm them. After all, they were family. But then, thinking back to his childhood, he realized that maybe he was wrong about it. Lucius was cold hearted, and he lusted for power.

"Oh, well I think many things still matter. Actually, Draco, I think I might be paying a little visit to two wonderful dentists sometime soon." Lucius smiled, and waited for a reaction.

Draco did not understand and his face showed confusion.

"Oh, you know, those two poor dentists who lost their darling daughter about twelve years ago-"

Draco face clouded over as realization dawned on him. "_No_, father! Do _not_ harm them."

Lucius grinned and held out his hand. "So we have a deal, my son?"

"You promise…not to harm anyone…if I join the dark side. How do I know that you won't go back on your promise?"

"Well, under the circumstances, I don't think you have any other choice."

Draco was silent for a moment. "Alright." And his hand reached out and met with his father's.

Lucius smiled. "Now that's my boy!"

"Just…one thing, please, Father."

"There's no room for compromise."

"Please, don't let Becky find out."

Lucius' expression softened as he thought about his granddaughter. "She'll never know."

TBC

A/N: ok, that was _way_ stupid but I couldn't think of anything else. As always REVIEWS help. I love feedback. Any suggestions about what I should do?? I've been trying madly to think up some good ideas. ff.net has been down for like _forever_, so I've had a large amount of time to think…but it would really help if some of you readers would help me *hint hint*!!!!! Im sorry I haven't updated in like more than a month, but ff.net, as you all know, had been down…very very annoying…at least I thot so. And I've been vacationing…anyways, puh leeeez review…hehehehehe. I really enjoy reading the reviews. Yeah, I know, the characters are like _way_ weird and like too mild and lifeless. I'm gonna try to fix that problem. This is my first story and I'm not the best writer so it would really help me if you guyz could offer some constructive criticism. A HUGE thx to ppl who have reviewed!!! I love you all!!!!!! And to ppl who haven't *megan tries to give a very mean and evil glare but bursts out laughing cuz she knowz she's an idiot* you should!!!!!!!! _anyways_, I have decided I won't act so stupid anymore and annoy all you readers who have probably already fallen asleep reading this author's note. Well, that is, if you haven't already fallen asleep during the story. Ok, well, ciao!


	8. The Silver Badge

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: This is a flashback, just in case you wanted to know.

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 8

__

Flashback

Hermione Granger walked proudly through the barrier to platform 9 ¾, with one arm cradling her cat, Crookshanks, and the other arm tugging at her suitcase. It was a large black suitcase that had wheels so it could be easily moved around, which is exactly what Hermione wanted, so that she could easily transport all the new clothes and robes that she had bought during the summer.

Hermione had changed this year. During the summer, she had joyfully found a spell in one of her magic books that could transform her bushy hair into locks of silky, smooth brown hair, permanently. Without having to worry all the time about her fuzzy hair anymore, Hermione had noticed that her hair color was honey colored - a very beautiful golden brown. Her teeth were straightened back in fourth year, and with the addition of her new, beautiful hair, she looked gorgeous. This year, Hermione Granger was going to walk confidently through the halls of Hogwarts.

She smiled happily when she arrived at the other side of the barrier and she looked at the great red train that stood before her. The platform was a crowded place and she glanced around to see mothers and fathers kissing their children goodbye. Her own parents had not come this year but they had given her their blessing before she left for the train station. This was due to the fact that there was a national dentist conference, and her parents had wanted to attend. Of course, they said they would cancel it because they wanted to see her off on the Hogwarts Express, especially since this was her last year, but she told them she'd be fine going by herself. Hermione knew how important this meeting would be to her parents. After all, it only happened every once ten years. So, after lots of persuasion, Hermione finally convinced her parents that she was grown up and she could handle going to the train station by herself.

Stepping nervously into the crowd, she tried desperately to find her friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Harry was her best friend at Hogwarts, and Ron, well, maybe he was a little more. After all, starting from fifth year, they had been deemed as a couple. Hermione looked around hoping to get a glimpse of the Weasleys' trademark red hair. She didn't need to look long because they found her first.

"Hermione! Over here!"

Hermione spun around and saw her two friends grinning madly at her.

"Goodness Hermione, what'd you do to yourself?" asked a very surprised Ron.

Hermione blushed crazily, turning the same color as the train beside her. "Oh, it's my hair, that's all."

"I think it's very pretty," Ron said, his cheeks also reddening. "I'm so happy to see you, it's been forever."

"Yeah, I missed you too," said Hermione quietly, still blushing. Ron leaned over and gave her a little kiss on the lips.

Harry stood beside them mouthing the words 'Ron and Hermione sitting in a tree…' and it wasn't until Ron gave him a furious glare that he stopped and smiled innocently, as if he had done nothing. "I was just saying, uh, we had better find an empty compartment soon, or else they'll be full."

"Oh, Harry, _grow up_!" exclaimed Hermione as she rolled her eyes.

And with that, the trio boarded the Hogwarts Express with their baggage. They found an empty compartment somewhere in the middle of the train, and sat down to refresh themselves.

"So, Hermione, I suppose you are the new Head Girl," said Ron, merrily.

Hermione blushed furiously and nodded.

"Well, no surprises there," said Harry. "Let us see your badge!"

"It's in my suitcase and I don't want to dig it out at the moment. Besides, haven't you got one too, Harry?"

Harry looked disheartened and shook his head slowly. "No."

Hermione burst into laugher and the other two could not understand why. "Harry, stop being silly, that's absolutely ludicrous! Who else would get it besides you? No boy in the school gets better marks than you. Oh, come on now, Harry, just admit you're lying."

"I'm not," Harry said quietly, denying her accusation.

Hermione looked up, and seeing Harry's face, knew that he did not lie. She was startled and at a loss for words. "B-but…then who?"

Harry shook his head and Ron muttered a "who knows."

"I'm going to find out once we get to Hogwarts! Dumbledore must have made a mistake! It has to be you, Harry, it has to!"

The compartment was unusually quiet and stayed that way until a witch came around with a cart full of snacks. The three, all feeling terribly hungry, bought the whole lot, pigged out, and talked merrily for the rest of the train ride, forgetting their previous conversation.

A few hours later, they decided that they had better change into their school robes. Hermione clumsily put on her robe, but then straightened it when she remembered what she was going to adorn the robe with. She proudly pinned the silver Head Girl badge onto the side of her black robe.

When the train finally slowed to a stop, it was already nighttime. The trio picked up their luggage and stepped off the train, receiving a sudden wave of adrenaline from breathing the cool, fresh, night air.

They scrambled into the nearest empty carriage they could find, and felt excited that this was their last year at school, at last. This was the last time they would be able to ride in these magical carriages, and each of them were silent during the ride, trying to put everything into their memory.

Before they realized it, they were already at the school, and were climbing up the great stone steps. Professor McGonagall opened the door and all the students crowded inside the warm castle and started seating themselves in the Great Hall. After everyone had settled down, and Professor McGonagall and taken her place at the teacher's table, Dumbledore spoke up.

"Before the first years arrive, I want to ask that the Head Boy and Head Girl for this year please meet with me after dinner in the Tranfiguration classroom. Thank you. Now, if I am not wrong with my calculations, the first years should be waiting at the stone steps right now. Professor McGonagall, if you please."

Professor McGonagall quickly stood up and left the hall. The students chattered quickly with each other until a few minutes later, when the professor returned, leading a group of nervous looking children up to the front of the Great Hall, where the sorting hat sat on a small wooden stool. Hermione looked at the frightened, but excited children and wondered if that was how she looked too when she first entered the school six years ago. The students listened patiently as the old battered up hat sang its song, which, Hermione noticed, seemed to be increasing in length every year. The sorting itself, though, was an exciting process. The returning students cheered happily for the new students that were sorted into their houses. 

The dinner at Hogwarts was magnificent. Hermione enjoyed the food even though she knew it was cooked by house elves. Last year, Ron and Harry had finally convinced her to give up the whole SPEW thing. She finally agreed to give it up, realizing that the house elves hated her with a passion.

Dinner was a very social event. After she finished eating and the feast was over, she sat there talking with her friends for quite awhile before she suddenly remembered Professor Dumbledore's request to the Head Boy and Head Girl. With a little "oh, no!" Hermione sprang up, and without explaining to any of her friends, she bolted out of the Great Hall and down the halls of Hogwarts until she arrived in front of the Tranfiguration classroom door. 

She stood there for a minute, leaning against the wall and catching her breath. Then she straightened her badge, turned the doorknob, and peeked inside. Professor Dumbledore was already there, seated at the large desk in the front of the room, which usually belonged to Professor McGonagall.

"Good evening, Miss Granger. Why don't you have a seat," said Dumbledore, pointing to a chair that faced him.

Hermione quickly scrambled into the room and sat down where he had indicated. "Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."

The moment after Hermione sat down and uttered her reply to Dumbledore, she heard footsteps coming down the hall, heading towards the room which she was now in.

"If I am not mistaken, here comes this year's Head Boy."

The door opened and Hermione gasped at who stood at the doorway. It was Draco Malfoy.

"Good Evening, Mr. Malfoy. Now, if you will please have a seat here by Miss Granger."

Draco walked in slowly, and as if it were terribly agonizingly painful, he sat down

in the chair next to Hermione's, which he moved a little farther way after he was seated. "Good evening."

"Mr. Malfoy, may I introduce to you this year's Head Girl, Miss Granger," he said, nodding towards Hermione, "and Miss Granger, may I introduce to you this year's Head Boy, Mr. Malfoy."

Hermione and Draco stared daggers at each other, but Dumbledore continued talking, as if he had not noticed.

This year will be much different from the last," Dumbledore sighed, and his blue eyes lost some of their sparkle. "Voldemort has regained most of his power, and the whole wizarding world is in terror. Therefore, I need the two of you to set aside your differences and work to make Hogwarts a good environment for the other students to be in. You two will both have private rooms and baths to yourselves. Miss Granger, yours will be connected to the Gryffindor House, and Mr. Malfoy, yours will be connected to the Slytherin House. In addition, both your rooms will be connected to a meeting room, where the two of you will need to meet every once in a while to discuss school matters. I don't think that would be too much to ask of you two. Any questions?"

Hermione had a very forced smile on her face, it made her face look rather distorted. Draco didn't even bother trying to put on a good act. He sat there, staring vehemently at her, and occasionally mouthing the word "mudblood." But aside from that, none of the said anything.

Dumbledore took their silence as a no to his question. "Alright, you two are this year's Head Boy and Head Girl. As you already know, you two were very carefully selected from all of the eligible students of your year. Very careful thought and consideration had been given to the selection of you two to fulfill the position. As Head Boy and Girl, you two carry much responsibility for the other students in this school. As you know, a teacher cannot always be there to offer assistance to students in need of aid. You two must help those in need of help and ensure the safetly of all the students at Hogwarts. In addition, both of you are also role models for the younger students. I hope," and with this, Dumbledore gave both of them a sharp look, "that you two will be civil to each other. Also, with the privilege of being Head Boy and Girl, you will have the power to take or award house points. Please do not abuse this power."

"Professor Dumbledore, since I am Head Boy, shouldn't I have more power than the Head Girl?" Draco asked, in his usual tone of annoyance. "After all, _I_ am a male and a _Malfoy_."

Hermione glared at him. "How dare you be so sexist?" and then she turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, perhaps you should relieve Mr. Malfoy of his duties. After all, if he's not happy with his status, I'm sure many others would enjoy being the Head Boy."

"I'm not sexist!" Draco fired back. "I'm merely stating the truth!"

"And about being a _Malfoy_. There's nothing great with being a _Malfoy_. I

would rather _die_ than be a brainless _Malfoy_."

"Better than being a dirty, low life mudbl-muggleborn! I can't believe they even made you Head Girl, _honestly_."

"At least I didn't have to _buy_ my way into it, unlike _someone_ I know."

This struck a chord in Draco. He was furious the way that everyone thought that he used his money to get into everything. Although he couldn't deny that his money was a rather helpful tool, he smiled devilishly at this, he certainly did not buy his way into his Head Boy position. He hated the way that people all thought he was just a dumb rich kid who could buy his way into anything and everything.

"Granger, don't you dare insult me or my family any longer or else-"

Hermione jumped up from her seat. "Or else what, Malfoy? You're going to go crying to your daddy?"

"No!" Draco sputtered.

"Oh, wait, brilliant idea! Maybe if your dear little daddy paid them a hundred

galleons you could get them to expel me!"

"Granger, I swear if you don't shut that loud mouth of yours up-"

Dumbledore, who had been amused listening to this conversation, decided it was time to put an end to it. Dumbledore chuckled. "I see you two are getting along very well. But I think it might be time I showed you two to your new rooms."

Dumbledore led the two very furious students up to their new rooms, where they would live for the rest of the school year. Hermione and Draco were both having the same thought. _How am I going to get though the year?_

TBC

A/N: ok, so from now on, I think every other chapter will be a flashback. Gosh I think this story is gonna be kinda long…anyways. Oh gosh I never knew that Hermione had brown eyes. I mean, every1 assumes she does, but like, does the book ever say? I tried to look in the books to find her eye color but I couldn't find it. And wow, pansy has blonde hair?????I never knew that either. I always thot she had black hair. Hehehehehe. Oh yeah, and about school robes. Well, in the first book, when harry gets his list of school supplies, it says to get black robes. So I'm assuming that everyone is supposed to wear black robes…and this story is basically draco/hermione, but other pplz twisted lives are also gonna be in it. And about snape and all, he's just a small character…I personally think that hermione/severus is a bit…eeky. Thx a whole lot to the ppl who have reviewed! The reviews are like, my life, seriously. Im trying to write a lot right now while I can, cuz after school starts, life is gonna be hell, and I prolly won't have much time to write. So im trying to write a lot now so then I can post like a chapter per week after school starts without having to take time off my precious sleep. I seriously had like the biggest scare the other day. I thot my dad deleted all my files. I seriously was like gonna cry cuz I had spent so much timing writing this story and all. But then it turns out he put it on another drive. Anyways, this story is gonna be REALLY long…hope nobody minds…usually long stories put ppl to sleep. Alright, anyways, I want to again thank the people who have reviewed, you guyz are awesome, I love you all! Ok I have the next chapter done…if I get lots of reviews (please?????) then I'll post it real soon. And btw, what is a beta? Well, I g2g now to write more chapters, ciao!

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REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I have some serious mental issues)


	9. He Is My Father

Disclaimer: nothing here is mine except for the plot

A/N: This is not a flashback…oh yeah and **thx to the ppl who reviewed chapter 7 and 8: li'l grasshoppa, Beryl11196, Dorthey Star, Escritora, Morning Star, kikie, Feltonluver, Sabrina Weasley, Miseducated Girl-Child, Sailor Depara, lazy, Danny, tara, peacock, l8ter3, magelet, Shirazuki, and Taraleia**

Also, please read the a/n at the end of the chapter…

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 9

"Father, I'll miss you terribly!" cried Becky as she threw herself into Draco's outstretched arms. "And you, too, mother. I'll miss you awfully." With this, she hugged her mother tightly.

Today was September first, the first day of school. Draco and Pansy had come to platform 9 ¾ to see their daughter off.

"Becky, we want you to know how proud we are of you," said Draco, his watery eyes glistening as he said goodbye to his daughter, "and how much we love you."

Pansy nodded, her eyes over bright from knowing the fact that in just minutes, her daughter would be gone, and she wouldn't be able to see her for months.

"I wish grandmother and grandfather could be here also, I'm going to miss them."

"Your grandmother is very sick right now, you know Becky, or else she would be here. And you grandfather…well…he has business he needs to attend to," Draco said, very uneasily.

"I love you mother. I love you father," said Becky as she picked up her suitcase and picked up her cat from the ground.

"Do you need any help, baby?" asked Pansy.

"Oh, no, I'm sure I can manage," said Becky as she started to walk to the red train. "Goodbye!" And with that, Becky boarded the train.

With one last glance, Draco and Pansy walked back through the barrier and left the train station.

Becky had some trouble hauling her suitcase to an empty compartment. She was terribly frustrated because she couldn't move it and people were lined up behind her, waiting for her to hurry up.

"Here, let me help you."

Becky looked up to see the speaker. It was a tall boy, but probably also a first year. He was extremely handsome, with jet black hair and emerald green eyes. He picked up her suitcase easily and carried it into a compartment and sat down.

"Thanks."

"No problem. The train's about to start, maybe you should sit down."

Becky looked around the small room. Some other luggage besides her own was also there. "Maybe I should find another compartment, it looks like this one is already taken."

"Oh, no, wait," said the boy. "My friend and I were sitting in here and I thought maybe you'd want to sit with us."

"What friend?"

"Oh, he's out talking to his cousin right now, but he'll be back soon. It doesn't seem like you know anybody."

Becky blushed. "Oh, well, I don't. I don't know any other students and I don't really have any friends."

"That's alright. I'll be your friend."

"Thanks."

"Are you muggleborn?"

Becky burst out in laughter. "Heavens, no! I…"

At that moment, the compartment door swung open and another boy with fiery red hair stepped in and took a seat and then saw her.

"Who's that?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, she didn't know anyone so I told her she could sit with us," said the black haired boy, who continued on talking to introduce himself to Becky. "I'm Chris Potter and this is my friend Alex."

Becky studied Alex closely and then burst out laughing again. "You must be a Weasley, am I correct?"

He nodded. "What's so funny about that?"

"Oh, nothing," said Becky. Her mother had told her to not associate with Weasleys, but this boy seemed to be nice, so she decided to not pay attention to her mother's warnings. "I'm Rebecca, but you can call me Becky."

"My sister has a doll named Becky…" Chris said, with a disgusted look. "Can I call you Becca instead?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Sure, whatever."

"Did you hear, I heard that Voldemort is going to attack some time this year!" said Chris.

Alex cringed at hearing the name. "Chris, don't say that name! It frightens me every time you do. Besides, it's just a rumor. Every year the Ministry says he's going to attack and he never does. No point in worrying about it."

"Sorry, but who is…Voldemort?" asked Rebecca, and Alex cringed again.

Chris stared at her, surprised. "You don't know? He's the most evil wizard in the history of time and he wants to take over the wizarding world."

Rebecca gasped. "Oh, but, that's awful."

"And he has these evil followers, called Death Eaters," added Alex. "And they go out and kill and torture innocent people."

"He has followers?"

"Oh, loads of them."

"And the worst of all of his followers, the second in command after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, is this evil person who has killed more muggles than probably all of the other Death Eaters combined. I heard he's going to be the next Dark Lord if Voldemort got killed."

"What's his name?"

"Lucius Malfoy."

Becca gasped and felt faint.

"Yes, he's one of the worst, but you know what I heard?" said Chris. "I heard that his son Draco Malfoy is following in his father's footsteps! Terrible terrible person."

Becca had heard enough. These boys had gone too far. "That's not true! He wouldn't do something like that!"

The two boys were surprised at her sudden outburst.

"But it's true! Ask anybody in the wizarding world!"

"It's not!"

"How would you know?"

"Because…because…because he's my father!"

That certainly shut the two boys up. The whole compartment was silent for what seemed like hours.

"You're a _Malfoy_?" asked an astonished Alex.

"Yes," Becca replied proudly, "what's wrong with that?"

"The Malfoy family is all into the dark arts, and they all follow Voldemort," said Chris, uneasily.

Becca thought about this for a second. "Well, honestly, you two, if my family was that bad, then I should know something about it, shouldn't I? Up until today, I haven't even heard the name Voldemort before!"

Things were getting very confusing, and the three were very happy when the old witch came around with the snack cart. The three of them pooled their money and bought practically the whole stock of food. For the rest of the trip, they ate and talked about school and how they thought it would be like.

"I hope I'll be sorted into Gryffindor," said Chris as he took a bite out of a chocolate frog. "My father went there. But my mother was in Ravenclaw. She died after my sister was born."

"I'm so sorry, Chris, that's awful," said Becca, feeling sympathetic for this boy.

"It's alright. I don't remember her much anyways. But my father's been a mess since then."

"Well, I hope I'm in Gryffindor too," said Alex, trying to change the subject. "Both my parents were in there. Imagine what they would say if I was sorted into Slytherin!" But, then, seeing Becca's face, he quickly added, "I suppose Hufflepuff would be worse."

"I do hope I'll be in the same house as you too, but my parents told me that people in my family usually are sorted into Slytherin," said Becca, feeling a terrible disadvantage for the first time because she was a Malfoy.

"Oh, it's been hours already. We should be getting to Hogwarts soon. Maybe we should change," suggested Chris.

The three agreed and changed into their black Hogwarts robes. Soon, in fact, the train did stop and they came off at the Hogsmeade train station. Then a big giant named Hagrid took the first years to a nearby lake where they got into small little boats and rowed across the dark waters. On the other side of the river, they docked and looked up to see a great big castle, with many towers. Hagrid led them up a set of stone steps and they climbed up and waited at the big oak door.

~

__

"Soon, I shall have supreme power."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Soon, I shall be invincible."

"Yes, My Lord."

"But someone stands in my way."

"But, Master…you are all powerful! Who can stand in your way?"

"Silence! She is the key to my destruction!"

"Yes, My Lord."

"She must be destroyed."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Find me the girl."

"Yes, My Lord."

"And kill her."

TBC

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!THANKS!!!!!!!

Ok, now for some serious business: 

1) if you would like for me to send you an email every time I update, please tell me so by emailing me at princessmegan917@aol.com

2) I am in serious need of a beta reader or whatever they're called - im not sure. If you would like to help me out (please?) then please email me at princessmegan917@aol.com. I would really appreciate it. Thanks. It seems like everyone else in the world of ff.net has a bunch of beta readers. I don't even kno what a beta reader actually does.

3) I just starting writing a new story called The Dimensions Of Time…if you have some time, go and check it out…it's kinda weird, I kno, but I thot it was an interesting idea

Alright, see you guyz next time

REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	10. The Rise Of The Evil Scheme

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: This is a flashback…and of course, **thanks to the people to reviewed: Escritora, emma, Sailor Depara, 2layz2logn, luvmealways89, IlUvDrAcOmAlFoY, lazy, and Nessa - thank you all for reviewing, I love you bunches!**

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 10

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Flashback

It was the morning of the third week of school and Draco was already becoming bored. He was heading to the Great Hall for breakfast, his chest puffed out proudly, showing off his shiny silver badge. His stomach was growling with hunger, he had not eaten much the night before. He came down a flight of stairs, rounded a corner, and sneered at the sight of what he saw. It was Weasley.

_The weasel._

"What are you doing in this part of the castle?" Draco asked in his usual drawl. He was in a rather weird place considering that this was known as a Slytherin part of the castle, and people in other houses rarely roamed these halls unless they had a reason. Of course, it wasn't restricted to students from other houses, but it was widely known that these halls that led up to the Slytherin house "belonged" to the Slytherins. Draco wondered what he would be up to this early in the morning, when most kids were heading down to breakfast, as he was.

"Uh, I was, uh, trying to, uh, find you," said Ron. "Because, you see, uh, someone, uh, got real hurt, and uh, nobody know what to do, and uh, well, uh, everyone told me to come find you, so uh…"

"Someone is hurt?" asked Draco, pondering Ron's words slowly. He wondered if the Gryffindor was truthful.

"Yes, he's hurt very badly, he's near the entrance to the Great Hall, and we couldn't find any of the teachers."

Draco knew it was his responsibility as Head Boy ensure the safetly of students, and if they were hurt, he needed to attend to them. He knew that the Weasel could be lying just to get at him. But, since he was heading down to the Great Hall anyway, to eat breakfast, he thought might as well check it out. Wordlessly, he started walking quickly through the halls. If Weasley was telling the truth, then he must find the injured student soon. The Gryffindor tagged behind him, keeping along with his fast pace.

When Draco arrived near the entrance to the hall, he found himself squished between the crowd of people who were socializing and chatting with their friends before they went in for breakfast. He felt frustrated at how slowly the students moved.

"Stand aside!" Draco yelled and the crowd, seeing their Head Boy quickly parted and a path was made for him. He was smugly content seeing how much the students were terrified of him. After all, he was the Head Boy, and had authority over most of the people in the castle. He wanted to be treated with respect and awe, and he thought he could definitely earn some points if he could save the injured child, if there was one.

Draco received the letter informing him that he was the Head Boy sometime in July. When he first opened it, he couldn't believe his eyes. Well, he could, actually. After all, he was a Malfoy, and he deserved the honor. His marks were excellent, too. Aside from what most people thought, Draco Malfoy was not just an arrogant boy who could buy his way into anything, he was an extraordinarily gifted young man who possessed many talents. His mother had been happy for him when he got the letter, but it wasn't unexpected. His father was not there at the time, because he was on "business". Just the idea of what his father was doing disgusted Draco. Although to most people, Draco seemed like a dark, sinister muggle hater, which he was, he wouldn't go as far and killing or torturing anyone. He only tried to be evil and sinister to fulfill the Malfoy family image.

Draco had also grown incredibly handsome over the summer. Not that he wasn't handsome before, but he had grown more so. His milky white skin had tanned and he had a lean and muscular body. Girls were already starting to tail him like crazy. But it was getting a bit boring, he had to admit. All the girls at Hogwarts were too easy to get. And after having slept with more than half the girls at school, he was a bit bored.

He strided quickly through the pathway that was made for him. While, walking at such a fast pace, he saw that the Great Hall was empty. No one had entered in, at least no one that he could see. Nevertheless, he continued on, reached the entrance, and _tripped_.

His reached his arms out to catch himself, but it was too late. He had fallen on his face. The damage was done. The crowd of students were all laughing at him. He would never be able to regain their respect. His cheeks developed into a dangerous shade of red. Never had a Malfoy ever been tricked like this. Never had a Malfoy been so embarrassed and humiliated. He looked behind him, and sure enough, there was a thin piece of wire stretched across the entrance, about a foot off the ground. The wire was almost impossible to see if you didn't look for it.

Behind him, he heard the familiar laughter of the person he hated most in the world. Weasley.

"Oh, Malfoy, did that hurt? Are those tears I see in your eyes?" he taunted. Potter was standing beside the weasel, obviously trying very hard not to laugh.

Draco ignored Weasley's comment, picked himself up, trying to look dignified, and then stormed back to his dorm, not feeling hungry any longer.

His dorm was beautiful. It was decorated in green and silver, because those were Slytherin's colors. It was almost as good as his room at home. Almost. After all, nothing could surpass the wonder and majesty of the Malfoy Manor.

He fell onto his bed feeling more humiliated than he ever had been in his entire life, _combined_. He wanted to stay in this room forever and never outside. Word traveled fast in Hogwarts, and he knew his little incident was probably all around school already.

Draco hated him. He hated that Weasley. Up until fifth year, he had hated Potter and Weasley the same amount. But then after Potter had saved his life during a Quidditch game when he slipped from his broom, he had been thankful to the black haired boy with the famous scar whom he had hated. Well, he still hated him, but he did owe Potter for saving his life. Therefore, he tried to be at least civil with him. But Weasley was different. The stupid Weasley with awful red hair, face full of freckless, and hand me down robes. He and Weasley still loathed each other greatly. Today, things had gone too far. The stupid red head had tricked him into believing there was an injured child, and had played a nasty prank on him. Weasley was going to pay.

Draco spent the rest of breakfast time lying on his bed trying to think of something he could do to the weasel. Being the person that he was, Weasley would be more insulted if something happened to one of his friends than himself. Draco decided not to do anything envolving Potter. After all, as much as he disliked Potter, he had saved his life once, and Draco was indebted to him. Besides being friends with Potter, Weasley had other friends, too. He tried to think of some of them, but to no avail. But then someone suddenly popped into his mind unexpectedly.

_Ah, Granger._

Yes, Granger would be perfect. The whole school knew how much Weasley liked the girl. Draco was already developing a plan in his mind. He chuckled lightly. It was perfect. Weasley was going to be sorry. He spent the next ten minutes mapping out his plan in his mind. Then, seeing that it was time for his first class today, Tranfiguration, to start, he left his room, walking to the Tranfiguration classroom with a smirk on his face, his brilliant scheme playing over and over in his mind. He was going to ruin Hermione Granger.

TBC

A/N: okay, end of another chapter. REVIEW!!!

I would REALLY like to get up to 100 reviews soon, please help!!!!

If you would like me to send you an email when I update this story, please tell me so by emailing me at princessmegan917@aol.com

I think I will post chapter 11 (the Sorting! What house will Becca be in?) on Monday, unless I'm in a really good mood, in which I will post it sooner. And of course everybody knows, lots of reviews = good mood. Heheheheheheh…im such an idiot. anyhow, cya guyz next time.

ciao!


	11. The Decision Of The Old Sorting Hat

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of other characters. The plot is mine, and the people you don't recognize are mine.

A/N: from now on, every other chapter will be flashback, ok? But this one isn't.

I'm sorry, I promised that I would post this chapter earlier if I got lots of reviews, which I did (yay, happy me!), but ff.net was being a pain and it wouldn't let me in cuz it kept saying that the server was busy.

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Thanks to the people who reviewed: Scegan, Fuu Houoji - I went to your site, but nothing is up yet!**, Escritora, tanya, mrs. fred weasley **- this story is definitely hermione/draco, I think snape is sick**, Gwen, Merusa, missdragoness, IlUvDrAcOmAlFoY, Marigold** - I'm sorry you were disgusted with the hermione/snape, I think that's sick too, but I originally added him in to make conflicts**, Tara, dez, Nessa, CuTiE-bLuE-jEwEl, Melissa Potter** - you've my 100th reviewer!**, Sandra** - you're not 100, but you're 101, which is also a great number!**, Shirazuki, Wendy, Impressed, and susie asparagus -** ron is married to parvati, so parvati is alex's mom.

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And of course, thanks to my new beta - whoz penname I don't know and need to find out! But you know who you are! And tell me your pen name!

Please read the A/N at the end of the chapter, it deals with the complaints about the hermione/snape thingy. Alright, read, read, read!!!

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 11

It was the night of the first day of school. The teachers sat at their table in the front of the Great Hall, while the returning students were seated at the table belonging to their house.

Hermione was situated between Minerva and Severus, although Minerva had just left to retrieve the new first years. Everyone was talking quietly, patiently waiting for the professor to return with the new students. They did not wait long, however, because just minutes after she left, Minerva came back, leading a group of nervous looking children to the front of the hall. The place hushed as everyone studied the new students closely, wondering which child would be sorted into which house.

Hermione glanced around nervously as the sorting hat began to sing its song. Much to her pleasure, the song this year was shorter than it ever had been in all her years at Hogwarts. Listening to the song had always been a bore for her while she attended school. But now, it felt wonderful to hear the old Sorting Hat again, and it made her feel very much at home. She chuckled at the thought of how much she hated the singing of the Sorting Hat back in her days in Hogwarts. Hermione sighed and tried to find the pretty girl that she had met in the pet store at Diagon Alley a few months before. 

After a few moments of searching she found her.

The girl from Diagon Alley was conversing with two young boys. One had black hair and the other had flaming red hair. Both of them looked oddly familiar to her.

_Well, of course they are…I probably went to school with their parents._

She wondered which of her friends could possibly be the parents of the girl. They most likely had to be one of her friends. The only people who she didn't associate with were the Slytherins, when possible, and she knew that this child, with her friendly ways, could not have been born to a Slytherin family. Maybe the girl was a muggleborn, like herself.

_Well, I'll find out soon._

The sorting soon began, and Minvera pulled out a large, rolled up scroll of parchment. She unrolled it, slid on her reading glasses, and began to read off the names.

"Zaplod, Daniel!"

Hermione smiled to herself as the small boy stepped up to the sorting hat. She realized that Minerva was reading the names off backwards. She figured that McGonagall probably got bored and decided to do something different for a change.

A moment later, the hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

The professor called another child up. She was sorted into Hufflepuff. 

About two more children passed, and then, "Weasley, Alexander!" was called.

Hermione's head shot up. She wondered if this could possibly be Ron's child… Ron, her childhood friend. Or, perhaps this child belonged to another one of the Weasley's. After all, there were many members of Ron's family, and this could easily just be his nephew. Alexander Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor, and Hermione wasn't at all surprised. 

When she heard, "Potter, Christopher!" she was already prepared. She knew that Harry and Cho must have had married soon after his graduation. After all, there wasn't a person in the world that didn't know they were engaged during his seventh year. She wondered how they were doing now, and what kinds of jobs they all held. 

Their son was also sorted into Gryffindor.

Twenty more names were called. And then came, "Malfoy, Rebecca!"

Hermione was stunned and she gasped as her eyes darted up. She definitely had not expected this. But, deep in her heart, she knew that he must have had a child, though she tried to deny it. He had hurt her, and now hearing "Malfoy" being spoken opened old wounds.

_Get a grip!_

Hermione looked around the small group of children left, trying to figure out which one was his daughter. Her eyes widened at the girl who stepped forward; it was the same girl she had met before at the pet shop. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes, but could not deny to herself that this definitely was Draco's daughter.

__

I should have known…the hair…

The girl climbed onto the tall stool and Hermione saw her take a deep breath. She looked terribly nervous. Minerva put the hat on her head and the whole school waited anxiously for the hat's decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

All the students gasped, even some of the Professors were taken aback. People started whispering excitedly. The Malfoy family was known to be very closely connected to the Dark Arts and had all been in the same house; Slytherin.

"Oh, dear," said Minerva, as she lifted the hat off and checked to see if it was still in working condition.

The girl, apparently very surprised herself, walked towards the Gryffindor table looking like she was in a daze. She was greeted by her friends, the two boys whom she had been talking to earlier, Alex and Chris.

Hermione had to admit that she was very astonished. Not only was this Malfoy child a kind person, but she had also been sorted into Gryffindor.

_Since when has a Malfoy ever been in Gryffindor?_

Obviously everyone else was thinking the same thing. The hall was quiet and there was no clapping for this new addition to the Gryffindor house. As if to relieve the tension in the silence, the two boys she had been talking to started clapping loudly. And soon, the whole hall joined in a very uneasy applause.

The sorting continued on, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Half an hour later, when the sorting was finished, Dumbledore gave his usual speech about not wandering into the Forbidden Forest and such and such. Then the feast began the tables were filled with plates and bowls full of the most delicious food.

Everyone had seemed to have forgotten little mishap during the sorting. That is, everyone except Hermione. She had so many thoughts running through her mind that she didn't even pay attention to the food she was eating. She scooped a spoonful of the delicious chicken soup into her silver spoon and brought it to her mouth, except, it hit her nose instead. She was obviously too preoccupied, but her thoughts were shattered as she quickly dabbed her nose with the napkin that had been sitting on her lap.

After the feast, Severus walked Hermione up to her room again. This was becoming quite common, as she and Severus were getting to be better friends. Over the months before school started, he had helped her tremendously. Everyday the two of them would sit at her desk in her classroom or at a table in the library, and he would help her relearn and study the things she had forgotten.

Tonight, their conversation was rather dull, due to the fact that Hermione was deeply lost in her own thoughts. Severus saw that she was rather preoccupied so he remained quiet, muttering a sentence or two once in a while. He wondered to himself what she could possibly be thinking about.

Severus had quite a nasty shock today too, upon watching the young Malfoy girl being sorted into Gryffindor. He thought the hat might have been getting a bit old. What really stumped him was that Dumbledore had not looked surprised at all and had not done anything to fix it. He thought that if he were the headmaster, he would have immediately put her into Slytherin, assuming that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake.

His thoughts soon wandered back to Hermione, and he watched her as she walked quietly beside him. Everyone loathed him, he knew that already. Aside from Dumbledore, she was his only friend. His only _real_ friend. 

~

Rebecca and her two friends chattered excitedly as they and the other first years followed the Gryffindor prefect Elise Spinnet up to their house dorms. Well, _they_ were all happy and excited, but Rebecca wasn't sure what she felt. 

The whole day had been terribly…strange: First of all, she had become friends with a Weasley; someone her mother told her not to associate with. Well, she wasn't sorry. Alex and Chris were her two new best friends at school. But then, she was sorted into Gryffindor. 

At first she thought it was a mistake, but then, seeing that no one was about to do anything to help the matter, she accepted her fate. But the most bizarre thing of all was what the sorting hat had said to her…

__

"Ah…Miss Malfoy…where shall I put you? Hmm…difficult…very difficult…"

__

Put me where I belong.

"Where you belong? Hmm… plenty of your father in you: cunning, sly, daring, stubborn, yet compassionate…but also plenty of your mother…hmm…brilliance, wisdom, courage…where shall I put you? Such a difficult decision to make…Slytherin…or Gryffindor? Which side shall prevail?"

__

Please, just put me where I belong.

"A brave heart, daring, and full of courage…kind, caring and sympathetic, and of course, lots of intelligence…your mother's side does shine through…then it's settled…you belong in GRYFFINDOR!"

When Becky arrived in the common room, she didn't even stop to take in her surroundings, like most of the other first years did, but slowly headed up towards her room, which she shared with four other girls in her year. When she got there, she quickly changed into her pajamas, climbed into her bed, and drew the curtains. The Sorting Hat's words repeated in her mind as she lay there, slowly falling asleep.

_Slytherin…and Gryffindor; Father…and Mother…_

She thought deeply, still very confused. The Sorting Hat said it had put her in Gryffindor because of her mother's influence…

_But Mother was in Slytherin…_

Very puzzled, but perhaps even more tired, Rebecca soon drifted off into sleep, her thoughts still playing in her mind.

TBC

A/N: alright, so dealing with the whole Hermione/Snape issue. I must remind all of you that is this a Hermione/Draco story, so Snape is a very minor character. Right now, Snape and Hermione are just FRIENDS. And they're most likely going to remain that way. So don't worry, this will definitely not be Hermione/Snape. It's Hermione/Draco!!!!! I think that Hermione/Snape is nasty becuz Snape is gross and he's like centuries older than her. So I guess my main point here is that this story is Hermione/Draco, and Snape is just a FRIEND. Gosh I'm getting repetitive.

In case some of you haven't caught on yet, every other chapter will be a flashback, ok?

And of course, if you would like me to send you an email every time I update, please tell me so by emailing me at princessmegan917@aol.com

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me

Ok, im really bored so I will make you guys a deal:

5 reviews = update on Monday, 10 reviews = update on Friday, 15 reviews = update on Thursday, and any more than that = update on Wednesday

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!


	12. Pure Ecstasy

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: this is a flashback!!!!

There is something majorly wrong with ff.net becuz it won't show me all my reviews and it's really annoying becuz I hafta go back a page and then go forward a page to see my reviews and it's driving me nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, and also, another problem with ff.net is that it won't let you read the latest chapter! So, if it won't let you read it, then go here: **http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=816799&chapter=(type in the number of the chapter you want to read)**

Thanks to the wonderful people who reviewed: **Lyansidde** - thanks for your contribution! I do think Pansy is a bit mild, I should make her meaner, **lisa** - ahhhh I'm writing as fast as I can!, **Escritora** - haha, you're so funny. So now I'm a chapter hostage-taking person, hahaha!, **Nessa** - yup! Becca is getting suspicious! Thanks for being so devoted to this story!, **Merusa** - well, don't worry, you're gonna find out a ton of stuff about the past cuz there's gonna be a ton of flashbacks, **Dorthey Star** - I totally agree with you, D/Hr is the best, D/G and H/Hr are good, and R/Hr…yuck!, **angstluvnasian** - thank you for reviewing. Yes, im very happy!, **Madame Padfoot** - yes, I agree, Hermione has to have a friend, even if it's Snape!, **Melissa Potter** - I can't imagine myself writing a Hermione/Severus story! Hehe!, **Cheer Princess** - The plot is kinda weird, and I think the story will turn out kinda weird…hm…, **Rosebud** - I hope Draco and Hermione meet again soon, too, I just don't know when…lol…, **Moi** - thanks for reviewing and having read it a 100 times!, **susie asparagus** - cute? Hahaha! That's funny, **Golden-Girl2002** - beautiful? Wow, another adjective…lol…, **Landry Anne** - well, the truth isn't going to come out just yet…but it will…sometime…hehehe…, **Rebecca** - I'm sorry your computer went haywire. Well, it's going to be a while before the whole truth comes out, but I can tell you, Becca is going to be doing some serious research!, **luvmealways89** - there will definitely be more flashbacks. In fact, every other chapter will be a flashback from now on. Eek, I think s/hr would be gross! They're friends, but I guess snape might just have a little crush on her, **michee **- becky's eyes are blue, like hermione's. cuz in this story, hermione has blue eyes, **Gwen** - well, here's the next chapter!, **Rosa** - yeah, Hermione is Becca's mother…hm…what dream?, **WillowRaven** - well, it's gonna take a while before Becca finds out the truth!

A huge thanks to my beta, **Moi** (not me! That's her name! I'm not crazy! I swear!)!!!!!!!

And here is the next chapter, just like I promised!

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 12

__

Flashback

It had already been a week after Draco had thought up his brilliant plan, and he still had not put it into action yet. He sat at the Slytherin table in the great hall, eating his dinner. Beside him, Pansy Parkinson was chattering away with Blaise Zabini and some of the other Slytherin girls.

"Oh, they're absolutely _gorgeous_. I'll show you when we get to our dorm. I just got them by owl today. The red velvet one is absolutely _wonderful_. Probably cost a whole fortune. Well, _my_ parents have plenty of money to spend."

"Oh, my God! You _have_ to show us. You're _so_ lucky. I can't _believe_ my mother hasn't sent me anything in practically a _week!_ How am I going to _live_?"

"And the other blue silk one; you really _should_ see it. I bet it was at _least_ a thousand galleons."

"_Just_ a thousand? My last robe was at _least_ five thousand!"

"Oh, excuse me, did I say _one_ thousand? I meant _ten_ thousand."

"Pansy, your mother sends you new robes almost every other day. I wish my mother did that. She only sends packages once a month! Well, I get about ten new robes every time, so I really shouldn't be complaining."

"Well, _my_ mother _does_ want me to look nice at school. I can't believe all they'll let us wear are these _awful_ plain black robes. Not that black _isn't_ my color…it matches my hair _very_ nicely." 

"It's not like we actually follow that idiotic rule about only wearing black robes. We've never been caught before or punished. After all, they can't punish us for not wanting to be ugly!"

"Well, _my_ mother says I look good in _any_ color. She says _I_ have natural beauty and _I'm_ one of those people who can wear _rags_ and still look gorgeous in it. Not that I would _want_ to, for any reason." 

"Who would, _honestly?_"

"And these slippers that she sent me! They're so _gorgeous_. They've got diamonds all over. _My_ parents don't want me to look like a poor old fool at school. I _am_ a Parkinson, so you know, I _have_ to dress nice and-"

He tried to block out her high pitched voice and looked at the seats opposite him. There sat his friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, two big gits that looked like they had a combined IQ of about thirty on a good day. Which was probably wasn't far from the truth.

Earlier that morning, after Draco had put off starting his little scheme for a week already, he decided it was time to take some action. Therefore, he very unwillingly had to call off his date that night with that Ravenclaw Sixth Year, who was rather pretty. 

After finishing his dinner, he quickly left the Great Hall, much to the surprise of his fellow Slytherins. Usually Draco would stick around and brag about his latest conquests, much to a very jealous Pansy, who was known as his supposed girlfriend. But tonight he knew he couldn't stick around. He needed to start his little plan.

He rather admired himself greatly for being able to come up with such a brilliant idea. Although most people had already forgotten about his little incident a week earlier, he himself could not forget it. _Ever_. Oh, yes, that Weasley was going to pay. He was going to pay dearly.

Draco chuckled lightly to himself as he began to look for the bushy haired Gryffindor. Oh, if she only knew what he was going to do. Draco stopped in his step for a second, trying to go over his plan again before it was executed, just to make sure there were no faults in it. He was going to make that Granger fall madly in love with him, add herself to his long list of conquests, and then dump her in front of the whole school. Pure and innocent little Granger would be destroyed. Her reputation would be ruined. And that idiot git Weasley, so protective of his darling girlfriend, would have paid back in full.

Draco strode through the halls of Hogwarts, hearing all the girls giggle and mutter "hi"s to him. He smirked and gave an occasional wave to the crowds of giggling girls. After walking down some halls for a little while, he realized that he had no idea where he was going or where the hell he was going to find Granger.

_Ah, of course, the library…_

Everyone in the whole school knew what a bookworm Granger was. She spent day and night in the library, glossing over mountains and mountains of books. Draco swiftly turned around and headed up the stairs and through some corridors until he reached the library entrance. Draco rarely visited the library. After all, he didn't want to be known as a total bookworm or nerd. Besides, the books that he needed, he could usually find in his family's large collection. All he would have to do is send an owl home asking for a specific book and the next day he would find it delivered. He pondered how it would affect his reputation if someone found him in the library, but brushed the thought aside. Who would dare speak ill of a Malfoy? Besides, it was after dinner and most students would be studying in their common rooms.

He reached out a hand and pulled open the door to the library. It was a large room with shelves and shelves filled with thick books. He stepped inside, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the librarian, Madam Prince, give him a very strange look. Obviously she was wondering what he was doing in the library. He turned to her and gave her a charming smile but then turned and rolled his eyes as he set out to find Weasley's little girlfriend.

He spotted her in a distant corner of the library, very preoccupied with her work. There were piles and piles of books on the table and she had her head buried in some of the ones that were open in front of her. Her hands were taking down neat notes on the piece of parchment that lay on the table.

Draco slowly walked up to where she was sitting and sat down in the chair opposite of her.

"Oh, just a minute Ron, I'm almost done," she said without lifting her head up, still concentrated on taking her notes at a very quick pace. She noticed that there was no answer and then looked up; gray eyes. "Malfoy," she hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"Granger, I thought we were going to be civil to each other," Draco drawled, trying to look hurt. "Imagine what good old Dumbledore would say if he saw you like th-"

"Cut the crap, Malfoy, what do you want?"

Draco thought of all the mean things he could say, but then reminded himself that being an asshole would not win Hermione's heart. He put on a charming smile, and hoped it looked real enough. "I thought that maybe I could -"

"-copy my essay? Hell no!" Hermione instinctively covered the parchment that she, just a minute ago, had been writing on.

"No! What I mean is…I thought maybe I could _help_ you, uh, with your school work."

Hermione looked at him like he was a loon. "What makes you think I need _your_ help?"

"Maybe because I get better marks than you."

"In your dreams, Malfoy."

"What do you have in Potions?"

Hermione was silent for a moment. "Okay, okay, maybe I _only_ have 98.72 percent, but that's only because Snape is a - " and here she stopped and made a face, "and _why_ am I having this conversation with _you - Malfoy_, of _all_ people!"

"What's wrong with me?"

"You're an arrogant bastard!" Hermione quickly picked up her quill and began to write on the parchment again, trying to ignore him, hoping that this was the end of their conversation and he would leave her alone.

Draco leaned forward on the table, until he was mere inches from her. "A very _handsome_ arrogant bastard."

Hermione sighed and looked up again, and gave a little jump when she saw how close he was to her. She scooted her chair back.

"What are you doing here, _really_?"

"I believe this is a _public_ library, meaning that-"

"Oh, shut up I know what it means. Now get away from my table."

"A little possessive, are we, now?" Draco said, and Hermione looked furious. 

Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down. "Please leave, Malfoy." _Before I blast you to smithereens…_

Draco shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Fine! I'll leave!" Hermione said, giving up. She then gathered up her notes and belongings, and stormed out of the library before Draco had a chance to say anything more.

Draco was furious with himself. He thought that maybe he should just give up his plan. After all, Draco Malfoy definitely did not go chasing after girls. They all came to him, willingly. And chasing after a girl, a _mudblood_, would be absolutely preposterous. Hermione Granger was _impossible_. But then he decided he wouldn't give up so soon. She wasn't like the other girls, who were all dying to do anything and everything for him. To make her fall in love with him, that would take time. Well, he had plenty of time. There was still nine months left of school. And even though their first little encounter today didn't go quite as he planned, he was sure he could definitely do lots of damage in the large amount of time that he had. He would just have to use his time more wisely. He smirked at the thought of Weasley's face when he achieved his goal. It was going to be pure ecstasy.

TBC

A/N: hey everybody! well, what are you waiting for? REVIEW!!!!!

Ok, I sound like an idiot, but that's alright, I'm used to it.

If you would like me to send you an email every time I update, please tell me, and I will do so!

Well, till next time, ciao!

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!


	13. The Man With The Scar

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…*sniff*…the world is so unfair

A/N: Ok, well this chapter is kinda a bit…off the subject. But it's totally important to the plot, so I ask you to read it even tho you may think that this chapter has nothing to do with the story at all. Well, this story is supposed to be basically draco/hermione, but it has little bits of other people's messed up lives too. And of course, it has, and I repeat, it HAS importance to the plot, even tho it's boring. So please read it. Hehehe.

And of course, thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed - you guys are the best:

****

Escritora - I had TONS of fun writing the pansy conversation. I guess I was trying to make the chapter longer, hahaha, **Sucker For Romance** - well, here's more!, **Merusa** - wow, I had totally forgotten it was harry's bday. Bad me. Thx for the reminder, **Dorthey Star** - I don't like dentists either. They scare me. Well, so does everyone, ok, I've got problems, **Rebecca** - I rather enjoyed the pansy conversation too. But I think I over did it a little. Oh well!, **Nessa** - I like the cold hearted jerk type draco too, but I dunno how to make him very cold hearted…hm…I'll need to research, lol, **Gwen** - you don't think draco's handsome? Hahahahahaha!, **Rosa **- well, I thot that chapter was kinda…stupid…lol…I guess that's becuz I wrote it and im kinda stupid, which makes the chapter kinda stupid…hahaha…ok, I need serious help, **Melissa Potter** - well, if severus was younger, I'd think they'd make a good couple. Hehehe, **Blank-didn't fill out a name-I dunno what to call you** - thanks for liking the plot and for thinking im a good writer…even tho I kno im not, **Tara** - ahhhhhh this story is gonna be wayyyyyyyy long…I think, **rockinpotter** - well, first go and upload the story from document manager, and then go to create story. It's kinda confusing, yeah I kno, **Lulu** - I like the flashbacks too, lol! Except I think they're kinda confusing…even to me, **Danny** - you have a point…maybe I should combine chapters to make them longer. **Diana** - here's the update!, **Lady Mooney** - eeeeek, I dunno if I forgot to mention you in my last chapter or if you changed your penname? Well, if I forgot, then im sooooooooooooo sorry. Forgive me.

And of course, a big thanks to my beta reader - **Moi** (I will say again, this is NOT me…im totally serious)!!!!!!!!

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 13

The dark, eerie room had barely a glimmer of light, coming from the small candle that sat on the old, beaten-up desk. The candle was almost burnt out; it had been used numerous times and now was barely an inch tall. The dimness of the light gave the room a rather dreary feeling - different than what it had used to be like; very different. The room had once been warm, and cheerful, where a family of four had happily talked, and laughed; where two small children had joyously played. 

The candle's light shone on a man's face. His once brilliant green eyes had lost their sparkle, and heavy bags now sat below them; bags that had not been there when he was younger, when his face was smoother and not so rough looking. His dark hair was in wild disarray. Well, perhaps it had always been that way. His desk was scattered with papers, and he was very busy with his work, scribbling away with his quill on the piece of parchment below him. A lock of his ebony hair fell to his eyes. Without stopping his writing, he used his other hand to brush the strand away. On his forehead, barely noticeable, was a shiny scar, shaped like a lightning bolt.

The man closed his eyes, covered his face with his hands, and sighed deeply. He glanced at the gigantic grandfather clock that stood on the opposite side of the room. It was six o'clock. He stood up slowly, and moved to the window. The blinds were closed, and he opened them, and light flooded in. The sky outside was a bit dark, and rain was pouring down, creating a small stream. He stared outside, thinking of the better times in his life.

There was a knock on the front door and his thoughts were shattered. He left his workroom and walked through the messy living room to the front door. Without looking through the peek-hole to see who it was, he swung the door open. It was her again. In one hand she held an umbrella, and in the other she held a thermos.

"Hey, Harry."

The man was silent, before he finally uttered a reply. "Hello, Ginny."

"Oh Harry, it's so nice to see you. I'm been meaning to come see you for a while now, but work has been so busy."

The man named Harry didn't speak; he looked like he was in a daze.

"Well, aren't you going invite me in?"

He snapped back to reality. "Yeah, yeah, come on in," He held the door open for her as she stepped into his house. She closed her umbrella and removed her shoes before surveying the sight before her. The living room was rather messy. Well, messy was an understatement. The house was terribly unkept and everything was thrown over the floor. Harry cleared some parchments and other such things off a nice couch and sat down. She followed suit, sitting down next to him.

"It's been so long, Harry. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. It's just I was on a really long business trip. I've been all over the world," said Ginny. "_Do_ forgive me."

Harry nodded.

"I've brought some chicken soup for you. I made it myself," Ginny said as she held up the thermos she had brought and set it on the coffee table.

"Thanks," Harry said quietly.

Ginny sighed. "Harry, I _hate_ seeing you like this. It breaks my heart."

"I'm sorry."

"Harry, what happened to you? Wait, no, how many times have I asked that?"

He didn't say anything.

"You were once…so…full of life."

"Ginny, how many times have we had this conversation. I've heard it a million times from everyone in the world."

"Harry, now you're so…lifeless. It's like a dementor came and just sucked the life out of you. You're like an empty shell."

He gave no reply.

"One day you'll have to talk, now say something to me!"

"Ginny, I know my life is a mess. Does it look like I care? No."

"Harry, you have to get over it. She's _not_ coming back."

"You don't understand, Ginny. I love her."

"Correction, _loved_."

"No, I _still_ love her."

"She's dead, Harry. Get over it."

Harry closed his eyes and didn't say anything. Ginny thought that maybe she was a bit harsh. She took a deep breath and started over again.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"You're right, you shouldn't have."

"But Harry-"

"Stop, Ginny, seriously, how many times have we had this conversation? I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of it!"

"Listen to me, Harry." Her big brown eyes looked into his green ones. "It's been eight years."

"Eight years two months and seventeen days."

"Harry, I'm just trying-"

"-to make me feel better? Well, guess what, it's not working!"

"Harry you've got to stop this. Do you want Chris and Kathryn to live like this?"

"Live like what?"

"Harry, if you don't do something, you're going to ruin them! They're only children."

"They're _my_ children and-"

"Harry, listen to me for once!"

"I am listening."

"Harry, I'm a psychiatrist. I've dealt with people like you."

"People like me? Okay, so now you think I'm a loon?"

"No!" Ginny sighed. "I just want to help you!"

"Why?"

"B-because…I care about you…" Ginny muttered, blushing.

"Good, then do me a favor and leave me alone."

"Harry, do you want to know why I became a psychiatrist?"

"Why would I care?"

"My first year at Hogwarts was…awful. The whole deal with the Chamber of Secrets had a huge impact on me. And during that summer, my mother took me to a psychiatrist, and she helped me. I didn't think she would be able to…but she did. She helped me a lot. And I vowed that I would help others the way that she helped me. And, Harry, you saved me during my first year at Hogwarts. You were my savior and now seeing you like this…I really want to help you."

"Ginny, you've been "helping" me for eight years. Have I shown any improvement? No. So give up."

"Harry! It's been eight years!"

"You've already said that."

"Harry, she's dead. Cho is dead. And nothing will ever bring her back."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"It's been eight years; move on with your life!"

"I have moved on."

"No you haven't! You're still living in the past! You're miserable!"

"How would you know if I'm miserable?"

"Okay, Harry, take a deep breath."

"This is bullshit!"

"It's not bullsh-"

At that moment something massive fell out of the fireplace. Ginny and Harry heard coughing in the midst of the ashes, and then a small girl stepped out. She had long black hair and the same green eyes as Harry.

"Oof!" she exclaimed, still coughing a bit from the ashes. Then she looked up and saw her father sitting on the couch. "Hullo Dad; I'm back."

"Did you have fun?"

"Oh, loads!" then she saw Ginny. "Aunt Ginny! It's so nice to see you. You haven't come to visit us in such a long time."

"It's nice to see you too, Kathy."

"I was just at the Burrow. There was a little family reunion and Bella invited me. Everyone was wondering where you were."

"I just came back from a business trip. They should have known that. I didn't have time to go."

"But you had time to come and see my dad?" Kathy smiled slyly and Ginny blushed.

"Why didn't you take your dad with you?"

"He didn't want to go," Kathy shrugged and ran up the stairs to her bedroom, wanting to clean up the ashes on her clothes.

"She's right," Harry added in, "I didn't."

"Harry, you're part of the family. You know you're welcome anytime. Anyhow, I've got an appointment with a patient in half and hour. I better get going. I'll see you later, ok?"

Ginny stood up from the couch and walked to the front door. Harry followed. He held the door open as she stepped outside.

"I just wanted to help," she said slowly.

"I don't think anyone can," he said sincerely. "There are some things and some people that a person can just never forget. I don't know what to do anymore."

The rain outside had reduced to a small sprinkle, and the air smelled nice and fresh. He watched from the open door as she took a few steps away, and then stopped. She hesitated for a moment, before she turned around slowly to face him.

Her glistening brown eyes looked into his tired green ones, and her mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something, but wasn't so sure if she should. Her chin was quivering a little from the cold…or perhaps it was for another reason. She hesitated for a moment before the words finally, but shakily, left her mouth.

"Why can't you find someone else to love?"

One pearly tear slid down her porcelain face before she spun around and hurried down the street, clutching her coat to her chest, her tears streaming down her face, becoming one with the rain.

TBC

A/N: Ok, I'm facing a major dilemma here!!! Please help!!!! Alright, as of now, I've already planned the whole story out (took me a long time) and I basically kno what's gonna happen in all the chapters. The problem is, it seems like I'm gonna have a LOT of chapters…sooooo I was wondering if maybe I should combine chapters. So choice a) shorter chapters, more chapters, b) longer chapters - less chapters. Both have advantages and disadvantages. So…tell me what you would like better.

As always, if you would like to me send you an email every time I update, please tell me so.

And of course, don't forget to review!!! I love reading reviews!!! Therefore, review, review, review!!!


	14. The Book Bag

Disclaimer: Nothing here is mine…except the plot I guess.

A/N: so…um…here's the next chapter! it's not very long…I have trouble writing long chapters…I dunno I sorta get bored and dunno what to write anymore…

Thanks to the people who reviewed: **Anna Black** - thanks for your criticism. I know Hermione has brown eyes, but in this story she has blue eyes. Hehe. **Danny** - im still thinking about the chapters thing…**Merusa** - wow…I didn't think that chapter was terribly sad…hehe. **Connie** - well, you'll find out about Cho soon! **fOxyness39** - thanks! here's more! **Rebecca** - well, don't worry about there being cliffhangers. I totally cannot think up or write any cliffhangers! lol! **Slytherin Girl** - well, here's the next chapter! **katy** - thanks! I will! **Escritora** - well, yeah, it's kinda confusing…even to me…lol…my sister is a five year old and she is a very scary and annoying brat…ok that was totally off the subject…**Jockaroo** - thanks for thinking this is good! **Rosa** - well, it has importance to the plot…which you will find out sometime…soon…**Kate** - I'm so sorry I had to kill off a Ravenclaw! But it's part of the plot…sorta…**Diana** - I'm thinking about it, not sure what I should do yet. **ice-cold** - wow, an adjective…sorry, im weird…lol. **luvmealways89** - well, here's more! **solitary** - thanks for thinking that this has a good plot…well I think that the real plot hasn't come out yet…well, I'm even confused with this story and I wrote it…hahaha. **Melissa Potter** - yeah, I feel sorry for Harry too. **Gwen** - yeah, I thought the chapter title was stupid too…I couldn't think of anything else! **she who shall remain nameless **- longer chapters? Well, im still thinking about it. **Chocolate Peacock **- well, you'll find about Cho sometime…**Lulu** - I think I like longer chapters too, but it's so hard to make chapters long! **No name I dunno what to call you** - here's the next chapter! **zkiro** - ok, alright! I'm glad you like this story!

And thanks to my beta reader - **Moi **(it's not me…that's her penname!)

Ok, well, read, read, read!

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 14

__

Flashback

"Ok, you two, help me find _Legendary Plants of The Desert_, alright?" Hermione Granger said in her all too familiar bossy tone, as she began to search the shelves.

Ron Weasley groaned. "You're _still_ writing that essay?"

Hermione turned to face him, wearing a very exasperated look on her face. "_Well_, Ron, for your information, the essay is due in _two weeks_ and I know for a fact that you haven't started yours!"

"Well, I'll just copy it from you!" replied Ron, with a grin on his face.

"You absolutely will _not_!"

"Aww…Hermione, can't you take a joke? He's just kidding with you," said Harry, who had been listening intently on their conversation.

"Actually, I was serious."

Hermione sighed and went back to looking for the book. "Oh, here it is!"

She pulled the large green book off the shelf and carried it over to her desk. Well, it wasn't actually _her_ desk. It belonged to the library, but since she always sat at that desk when she was in the library, and since she was in the library almost 24/7, it practically belonged to her. She sat down, reached into her book bag, and drew out a quill and a piece of parchment that already had some writing on it.

Ron and Harry sat in the seats opposite her and fell fast asleep as she began to write. An hour later, Harry woke up with a start and glanced at his watch.

"Ron, _get up_! It's _one fifty_!" He kicked his friend to try to wake him up.

Ron opened his eyes slowly and yawned. "What?"

"Ron, wake up! Hermione, hurry! It's almost time for Potions!"

Ron sat up with a start. "Oh, bloody hell!"

The two boys stood up from their seats and looked anxiously at Hermione, who looked like she hadn't heard a thing they said.

"Hermione! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" Ron exclaimed frantically, snatching the parchment away.

Hermione glared at him and then wrestled it back. One edge had become a bit crumpled and she worked to smooth it out. "Look what you've done, Ron! Just hold, on, I'm almost done with this essay!"

Although Hermione seemed to not care, Harry and Ron were worried out of their minds. It was seven minutes till class would start, and it would definitely take at least that long to get there from the library. "Can't you finish it _later_? It's not due until the week after next!"

"Yes, but, Harry, I'm almost done and if I don't finish, I'll forget what I wanted to write!"

"Hermione, this isn't Hagrid's class we're going to be late to," Harry argued. "This is _Potions_! With _Snape_! He'll slaughter us!"

"Ok, you two go ahead. You might get there in time."

"And you?" asked Ron.

"_I_ am going to finish this up. Don't worry, I'll find my excuses."

The two boys looked at her skeptically, not knowing if they should follow her orders. She nodded furiously at them. "You've only got _six_ minutes. _Start running!_"

And they ran.

Hermione looked down at her essay. It was twice as long as Professor Sprout had asked for. She was working on her last sentence. It was almost done. Finally, she finished, and breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly gathered up all her books and supplies and put it in her book bag. She glanced at her watch. Four minutes.

With her book bag in one hand, she hurried out of the library and started running towards the dungeons, where the Potions classroom was.

"Oh, I'm going to be late!" Hermione said, as she glanced at her watch yet again. While she was still preoccupied with her essay, she didn't care much about being late. But now, after her essay was finished, Hermione in a fit of worries.

She ran down a set of stairs and came to a landing, which led to a hallway. Hermione dashed through but then she felt something snatch her book bag away from her hands. She spun around to face the person.

It was Peeves.

_Oh, no._

"Give it back to me." She reached her hand out to grab her bag.

Peeves held the book up above her reach and shook his head, grinning evilly and giving his usual cackle. "What's the magic word?"

"Please?" Hermione begged.

"What's the magic word?"

"_Please!_"

"What's the magic word?"

"Peeves, will you please give me back my book bag?" Hermione asked through clenched teeth. She was in big trouble and she knew it. She looked at her watch again, nervously. She was already late.

Peeves shook his head and grinned evilly. "What's the magic word?"

"I said, _please_!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Please!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Please!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

"What's the magic word?"

Hermione's face was red with anger. "Peeves, give me back my book bag…or else…you will be sorry."

"What's the magic word?"

"I'm warning you!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Fine!" Hermione reached into her robes to find her wand, and realized that it wasn't there. _Shit, I must have left it in my book bag…_

Her only option was to beg now, and hope that Peeves was in a good mood. "Please, Peeves?"

"What's the magic word?"

~

Draco usually wasn't this late to class, but he was having a nice conversation with a Slytherin sixth year, quite an attractive girl, and he didn't want to have to hurry off to class. He had arranged to meet with her that night. He smirked slyly to himself and ran a hand through his hair. It was going to be a fun night. 

The girl's name was Alison. Or maybe it was Alice. He couldn't remember, and he didn't really care either. As he began to walk towards the dungeons, he looked at his watch: 2:02. He was already two minutes late. But it was alright. Snape probably wouldn't mind; he never did. He came down the usual stairs that led to the dungeons and arriving on the landing, he heard voices in the hallway before him. He looked. It was Granger. And she seemed to be in a little bit of an argument with Peeves. 

Peeves was in the air, holding her book bag where she couldn't reach it. Granger, herself, was a mess. She was as red as a tomato and fuming with anger.

Draco smirked as he watched their argument.

"Peeves, give me back my book bag…or else…you will be sorry."

"What's the magic word?"

"I'm warning you!"

Draco rolled his eyes at her stupidity. _You have a wand, use it._

"What's the magic word?"

"Fine!" 

Draco watched as she reached into her pocket for her wand, except that it wasn't there. Draco smiled as a plan formed in his mind. It was too perfect. 

"Please, Peeves?"

"What's the magic word?"

Draco snuck up behind them. The two of them were too busy to notice him. He took his wand from his pocket, pointed it at Peeves, and muttered a spell. Instantly Peeves let go of the book bag and fell to the floor. Draco rushed forward and caught the book bag, while Peeves, now attached to the ground, screamed insults at him.

Draco turned around to face Granger. She looked stunned. He held the bag out to her, dangling it from his hand, a smile playing at his lips. Hermione slowly reached out for it, a very suspicious look on her face. She grabbed the book bag quickly by the handle and removed it from his grasp.

She turned swiftly, and began to walk away with fast steps.

"You're welcome!" Draco said loudly after her. 

She stopped in her step and turned her head back halfway to look at him.

None of them said anything for a moment. Then she started to walk away again, leaving him behind. He tried to find something nice to say. After all, he had to be nice to make her fall in love with him. His opportunity to make a good impression on her was slipping away and he watched her walking down the hall. He had never been this tongue tied in his whole life, and he knew that he needed to find something to say, and fast.

"Wait, Granger!" Draco ran to catch up with her.

This time she turned her whole body around, flipping her hair back and looking at him with displeasure. "Are you always this annoying or is it just to me?"

"You're late."

"Your point being?"

"Snape will skin you. _Alive_."

"I'm not scared."

"You should be," Draco said, starting to walk in circles slowly around her, eyeing her carefully. She shrunk back, not appreciating the way he was looking at her. "After all, you're the Head Girl, you should be setting a good example for the other students. What if they demote you? Take away 50 house points? Then you'll be left in shame forever."

"And you?"

"You forgot, I'm a Slytherin."

"Oh, yes, Snape's madly in love with you."

He ignored her comment. "So, my proposition is -"

"Your proposition?"

"Look, I'm trying to help you."

"Help me? Who says I need your help?"

"I'm the only one who can get you out of this mess without tarnishing your perfect record."

"I'm listening."

"I'll guarantee that you won't get into any trouble for being late…if you let me walk you to class."

Hermione considered this for a moment. Draco Malfoy walking her to class? Ugh. But under the circumstances, she had no other choice. After all, she was very late to class and Snape would definitely take at least 50 points from Gryffindor. And then there was the possibility that they would take away her Head Girl position. She shuddered at the thought. "Agreed."

Draco smirked. _Score!_

"One condition," Hermione said. "Don't talk to me."

"Why?"

"I can't stand the sound of your voice."

And with that, Hermione turned and started walking towards the dungeons, leaving Draco to ponder her words.

~

"Now who can tell me the effects of the Botbine Potion?" Professor Snape asked as he ran his hand through his greasy hair.

But no one answered him. They were all too busy focusing their attention on something else. Professor Snape looked to where they were looking at. Two students had entered the classroom. One was Draco Malfoy. He smiled wickedly to himself as he realized that the other one was Hermione Granger. He could surely get her into a lot of trouble for this.

"Explain yourselves."

"Professor Snape, we were detained by Peeves," Draco said.

The left side of Snape's mouth twisted up to form a wicked half smile. "Hm…find your seat Mr. Malfoy. Miss Granger, fifty points from Gryffindor for being ten minutes late to class."

Hermione glared at Professor Snape with venom in her eyes. "Why?"

How dare she question his authority! "Sixty points!"

"What? How can y-"

"Seventy!"

"Malfoy's just as late as I am -"

"Eighty, and if you say another word it will be a hundred!"

Hermione shut up, but she looked as if she was ready to hex him. Much to the surprise of everyone in the class, Draco spoke up to defend Hermione. "Yes, I agree with Granger."

Snape gave Draco a questioning look.

"I was just as late as Granger so therefore if you're not taking any points off Slytherin you certainly shouldn't take any off of Gryffindor." He mentally slapped himself for saying it. But, it had to be done. After all, Granger's heart would not be easily won.

The whole class gasped at what Draco had just said. Professor Snape thought about this for a moment. He had wanted to use this chance to take as many points off Gryffindor as possible. But, he couldn't deny that he was being just a tad bit unfair. He didn't understand Draco. Why in the world would he want to help out the Gryffindor? He supposed that Draco had his own reasons. Finally, he made up his mind. "Both of you sit down. No points will be taken."

Draco sat down in the empty desk in the Slytherin side of the room. Pansy leaned over and gave him a curious look.

"Are you sure you're ok, Draco? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" she asked with concern. She reached over and put her hand over his in a comforting gesture.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Your concern is absolutely unnecessary. I assure you I'm perfectly sane."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes," he replied with a smirk. _I know exactly what I'm doing…_

Then he sighed. Getting to Granger was practically an impossible mission. He was risking his whole reputation. First he had been _nice_ to Granger. Really nice. At least for his standards. And second, he had practically _begged_ Snape to be more lenient towards her. The whole school probably thought he'd gone mad. He sighed again. He wanted to reach his goal - to destroy Granger and get even with the Weasel, but he didn't want to ruin his reputation on the way. He told himself that he definitely needed to rethink his plan more carefully.

On the other side of the room, Hermione Granger thought that Draco Malfoy had definitely gone insane. First he had almost been _nice_ to her. And then he had convinced Snape to not take any points off of Gryffindor. She thought about this until they had to go to their lab stations and brew a potion. Then she shrugged it off as she concentrated on making her potion perfect, so that Snape wouldn't get another chance to take points away.

TBC

~

A/N: Ok, the end of yet another chapter, hehehe. This was a stupid ending for a chapter…yeah, I kno, but I couldn't think of anything.

Well, about the whole chapter issue…well, if I write longer chapters, it'll probably take longer to update. I'm still debating. Anyhow, who really cares.

If you would like for me to send you an email everytime I update, please tell me so!

And of course, review!!!


	15. A Book To Help Her Through

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here!!!

Thanks to the people who reviewed: **Merusa** - thank you! **Rebecca** - yeah, I think regular updates are nice…**Danny** - thanks! **Gwen** - I dunno how to make draco mean! Lol! I'm stupid! **Moi** - thanks, you're a great editor! **Escritora** - thank you! **Nessa** - yeah, I totally understand you. I absolutely hate it when my computer goes all slow. And thanks! **Jessica** - ok, well, here's the update! **No name person again** - thanks for your compliments! **Korinna** - thanks! yeah, hermione and snape both needs friends, **Melissa Potter** - ok, alright! **Lulu** - thanks, and here's more!

****

Connie - thanks for your email/review!

And thanks to my wonderful beta - **Moi**

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 15

Hermione entered the classroom slowly, slumping into her chair as she reached her desk. She was a nervous wreck. In just ten minutes, she would formally become the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher. In ten minutes, she would meet her first class of first years, and actually _teach_. In ten minutes…she didn't even want to think about it. Just the thought of it made her queasy. Part of her was nervous, and the other part was excited. She truly hoped that her pupils would like her. She didn't want to be hated like…well…Severus.

Although he was a good friend now, she had to admit that he was her least favorite teacher back when she was at Hogwarts. She and her friends had been hoping all through the seven years that he would be sacked or die of a horrible and incurable disease. 

She took a deep breath and looked over on her desk to see all the course books sitting neatly there. But that wasn't all, she realized. There was also a parcel wrapped in brown paper resting silently on the old wooden desk. Curious, she reached out to pick it up and put it in her lap. There was no letter or note on it, but she was certain it was for her.

She slowly untied the strings on it and they fell onto the ground. Then she began to very carefully take off the wrapping. After all the wrapping was off, she held the contents of the package up to look at it. It was a book; a very familiar looking book:

_Hogwarts, A History_

Hermione laughed when she realized that it was her favorite book. She hadn't seen it for years, and now, tears of joy slid down her face as she ran a hand over the book, feeling the hard cover made of dragonhide. She flipped open the book and saw a note written on the cover.

Dear Hermione,

This is a gift from all of us. We hope you enjoy it. We wish you luck on your first day of teaching.

Sincerely,

The Hogwarts Staff

Underneath, there were signatures of all the teachers at Hogwarts, even Mr. Filch, the caretaker.

Hermione sighed happily. She hadn't been planning on a surprise like this and she was very thankful for their gift. She sat there, leaving through the pages, remembering everything on each page until a few minutes later, when the first child entered the room. Hermione closed the book and smiled at the young girl, and she smiled back meekly. The girl took a seat in the second row.

In the next few minutes, the room started filling up as more and more students poured in. It was almost time for class to start, but, however, there were still three empty seats in the classroom. Hermione decided to call roll, and had barely begun when she was interrupted by loud voices outside the classroom.

"Are you sure it's here?" asked a boy's voice.

"_Yes_, I'm sure, and we're going to be late if you don't hurry up!" This was a girl's voice.

"I think we already are," said another boy's voice.

"Oh, wonderful!" said the girl, a note of panic in her voice as loud and hurried footsteps neared the door.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a girl with long silvery blond hair peeked in. Hermione immediately recognized her. It was _his_ daughter. Two more faces peeked in and she recognized them as Alex Weasley and Chris Potter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We got lost. Are we late?" asked Becca, who truly looked sorry.

Hermione was so dumbfounded that she didn't answer, until a few seconds later when she finally realized she had been asked a question. She snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no! Have a seat."

The three of them filed into the room and took a seat next to each other at the front of the classroom.

Hermione started to call roll again, but didn't see the necessity in it. After all, all the seats were already filled up, which meant everyone was present. But she realized calling roll would give her a good chance to learn everyone's names. The whole process went along pretty smoothly, except that Hermione's voice had quivered a bit when she called out, "Rebecca Malfoy?"

After the roll call, Hermione looked into the flood of faces and felt faint. How was she supposed to teach them? She had memorized a whole speech that she had written just for this occasion, and now, she had forgotten everything. She tried to find something to say. They probably all hated her, she thought miserably.

"Hi…everyone." There were a few snickers from the Slytherin side of the room. Her first class was Gryffindor and Slytherin. "I'm Hermione Granger…and I will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. You may call me Professor Granger."

A girl on the Slytherin side of the room rolled her eyes and whispered loudly to the girl beside her. "_Honestly_, and she calls herself a _teacher_!"

Hermione pretended that she didn't hear, but those words played over and over in her mind. Her eyes watered up.

_I can't do this…_

She wanted to melt into the ground. She wanted to run out the door and never come back. But then she realized that she couldn't give up. After all, Albus and the rest of the staff were counting on her. She couldn't let them down. So, she gathered up all her courage and began to talk.

"Please take out your textbooks and turn to page three," she said, gaining some of her confidence back. She began to write on the blackboard behind her. "Read the first paragraph on that page and then copy these notes after me."

The rest of the class went along smoothly, with hardly any trouble. Today, the students were just basically told what they were going to learn throughout the year, and what was expected of them. The hour and a half went by quickly and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as class ended. The students all left the classroom hurriedly.

_Probably want to get away from me…_

Hermione sat down in her chair and rested her head on her desk. She had a half-hour of rest before her next class would start.

"Er…Professor Granger?"

Hermione lifted her head up in surprise, and realized that one student had not left the classroom and was now standing in front of her desk. It was Rebecca. _Oh, great_.

"Can I help you?"

Rebecca smiled nervously. "Well, you might think I'm nuts but, could I, uh…"

"What?" asked Hermione. She certainly wasn't trying to be nice. Although she didn't want to treat this child badly just because of a grudge against the child's father, she couldn't help it. Looking at Rebecca reminded her of _him_, and that brought on so many feelings - anger, hate, sadness, loss, and maybe even jealousy of the woman who was Rebecca's mother. It was all his fault.

_I hate you, Draco Malfoy…_

"Could I see your owl?" Rebecca blurted out, shattering Hermione's thoughts. She looked at the professor pleadingly.

Hermione and Rebecca's eyes locked for a brief moment in which Hermione realized that the girl's eyes were a deep blue, and not the icy gray that she had been expecting. Hermione found warmth in those eyes, and smiled. There was something so familiar about them…but she couldn't put her finger on it. She became annoyed with herself when she realized that no matter how much she wanted to hate this girl she just _couldn't_. But that didn't stop her from trying. "She's in my room right now and this really isn't a convenient time."

"Actually, she's right there," said Rebecca, pointing to the far corner of the room.

Hermione smiled meekly. "Oh, then I guess she is."

"Can I go look at her?"

"Go ahead," said Hermione, very exasperated, giving up on her plan to try to be mean.

Becca ran over to the owl, who was perched in her cage. Hermione followed her and the two of them stood there admiring the beauty of the owl.

"She's beautiful!"

And here, Hermione relaxed and smiled a very big smile. "Yes, she is, isn't she?"

"What'd you name her?" 

"Coffee."

"That's a cute name! Would you mind if I visited her at another time?"

"If you would like."

"Well, thanks for letting me see her! I better be hurrying along to my next class or else I'll be late."

"You're welcome, see you later!"

Hermione watched as Rebecca rushed out and scurried down the corridor, leaving her alone in the classroom. 

~

"Where were you after Defense Against the Dark Arts?" asked a very curious Chris Potter.

"I was just talking to Professor Granger about something, that's all," Becca replied.

"Oh, let's go sit over there by my cousin!" Alex said as the three of them walked into the Great Hall for lunch. Becca and Chris sat on one side of the long table and Alex sat in the opposite seat.

Earlier that morning, Becca had decided to tell her friends about what the sorting hat had said to her. Now was the perfect chance.

"I have something very important that I have to tell you two."

Chris and Alex, upon hearing her serious tone of voice, nodded. "What is it?"

"You remember that sorting hat, right?"

"Of course!" the two boys chorused.

"Did it say anything to you while it was on your head?"

"Oh, yeah, it did. It said that I had lots of courage so it put me in Gryffindor," Alex said.

"And it told me that even though I had brains, I was more like my dad than my mum," Chris said.

Rebecca took a deep breath. "Ok, it said something very unbelievable to me. You know how I was expecting to get into Slytherin, and how everyone was surprised when I ended up in Gryffindor?"

"Yes."

"Well, the sorting hat told me that it was because of my _mother's_ influence that I was put into Gryffindor."

"Was your mum in Gryffindor?"

"See, that's the strange part. My mother was in Slytherin!"

The two boys were speechless. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. And it's been driving me crazy! I want to know why the sorting hat said what it did! I can't find any logic in its words!"

"Yeah, your mum was definitely in Slytherin. After all, everyone knows that the Malfoys want to keep all the Slytherin blood in the family, so they marry only Slytherins. There's no way that your mum could have been in any other house but that."

Alex thought for a moment. "Are you sure you're not adopted?"

Becca looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course I'm sure I'm not adopted. I've got all the Malfoy family traits, as in outer appearance, like my hair. And I have my mother's blue eyes. Well, sort of, anyway."

"What do you mean by 'sort of'?" asked a curious Chris.

Becca shrugged lightly. "It's no big deal. It's just that even though my mother's eyes are blue, and mine are too, they don't look alike at all, aside from the color."

Alex's eyes opened wide. "I know! I know! Maybe she's your _stepmum_! Does she _beat_ you? Does it _hurt_? I heard stepmums are _awful_!"

Becca rolled her eyes at the preposterous idea that Alex had suggested. "_Honestly_, Alex! My mother loves me. At home, there are pictures of her holding me right after I was born! So you see, she _is_ my real mother!"

"I really don't know what to say, Becca," said Chris, shaking his head slowly. "But we'll find out, alright?"

Becca nodded. "I say, we need to do some serious snooping around."

"And I agree," said Alex.

The three excited friends leaned in and began to discuss in quiet whispers about what sort of dangerous research they were going to do. Becca smirked slyly as she and her friends finalized their plans.

_Oh, this is going to be so much fun…_

TBC

~

A/N: Ok, um…the end of another chapter! (I always say that, don't I?)(I think I'm a very repetitive person)

Um…again…if you would like me to send you an email every time I update, just tell me so!

And please review! I LOVE hearing feedback from all you readers! So all ya hafta do is click on the rectangular blue button on the bottom of this page that says "submit review" and then type in something nice (hopefully)(*pout*) and then that'll just totally brighten my whole day a whole ton!!! you have no idea! Well, maybe you do. Ok, I will officially stop yacking off and bothering you poor readers who hafta stand this awful torture of listening to me!

So, have a nice day. Submit a review. And cya next time! Ciao!

~meg~


	16. The Project

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: Omg, I'm soooooo sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but school has been HELL. I absolutely HATE it. Actually, I hate my english teacher (don't tell her!). she's evil and terrible. I personally think that she should RETIRE. I mean, she's already so friggin old. Anyhow, I hate that class!!!! Therefore, I've been having a hard time writing, cuz writing reminds me of english, and english reminds me of her. And then I'm in a crappy mood for the rest of the day. Anyhow, that is why this chapter is extremely boring, cuz I wasn't in a writing mood when I wrote it. And it's really stupid too. Also, it's very over used. It WAS gonna be better, but im in a terrible mood thx to my english teacher, so therefore all ya'll hafta read this boring thing. Well I suppose you don't HAVE to read it. Anyhow, I will stop complaining about school and get on wit other stuff.

Thanks to: **Merusa, Madame Padfoot, Melissa Potter, perinnia, Lulu, Stacie, Iris, Escritora, Nessa, Rebecca, Gwen, may, zkiro, Tara/Jockaroo, Danny, li'l grasshoppa, Jessica, Bloody Raven, foxyness39, Sushi-chan, DrummerChick182, luvmealways, Star-Swept, Late-Summer-Night, Lala, Hermione_Malfoy, sydney, Moldanubikum**

And thanks to my beta, **Moi**

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 16

__

Flashback

"Please put away your textbooks," Professor Moody said as he stood up from his seat and strode over to the front of the class. "As you all know, this will be my last year teaching here."

At this comment, all of the students in the classroom groaned; some of the Slytherins even did. Professor Moody had been the best Defense Against Dark Arts teacher they had ever had. Although everyone was in their seventh year and would be graduating, they were still disappointed that he would have to leave.

"And because of this and because you, class, have learned almost everything that needs to be taught," he continued, "we will be starting a very interesting project."

"What project?" asked Ron out loud.

Professor Moody smiled. "I was just about to go into that, Mr. Weasley. From now until the New Year, you will have absolutely no homework at all. Period."

The class cheered loudly.

"But, you will be starting a project that will probably take a couple months to complete. You will be partnered up into groups of two, and will be assigned to a certain curse. You will need to research and find out everything about that particular curse and find its counter-curse. Of course, for most of the curses, more than just incantations are involved in the counter-curse. Some involve potions, which you will need to brew or other such things."

"Are you sure it would take us that long to find a counter-curse?" Lavender asked. "That many months?"

"Miss Brown, I must remind you that these are very difficult curses, which you will need to know how to do. And they have very difficult counter-curses. At the end of the time allotted for you, which is until early January, you and your partner will need to give the class a presentation."

Hermione, who had been taking down notes of what the professor had just said, now raised her hand up high in the air.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"How much would this be worth to our grade, Professor?"

"Ah, good question. This project will be worth seventy five percent of your grade this year, so I suggest that all of you take it seriously."

Hermione nodded and quickly jotted it down in her notes.

"Now, without further adu, I will partner all of you up and assign a curse to you," Professor Moody said, a trail of groans following. Everyone had wanted to pick his or her own partners.

"Miss Brown and Miss Patil," Professor Moody said as the two best friends cheered. He looked down at a piece of paper, which was probably a list of curses. "You will be doing the Georgian Pedel Curse."

Professor Moody continued on and paired up the whole class surprisingly well putting most people with their best friends. Hermione sighed when the professor put Harry and Ron together. She was hoping to be paired up with one of them because they were her best friends, and she didn't really know anybody else that well.

"And I think that's all of you," said Professor Moody after he had paired everyone up...or at least most of them... Hermione then realized that he had forgotten her. She raised her hand quickly and waved it in the air like a five-year-old trying to get her teacher's attention.

Professor Moody looked up and saw her. "Ah, I'm sorry, I must have forgotten. Miss Granger, will you please come up here."

Hermione, wondering what was about to happen, slowly eased herself out of her seat and trotted up to the front of the classroom, where Professor Moody had indicated.

"And, Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly come up here also?"

Hermione's eyes darted over to the Slytherin side of the room and watched with a feeling of foreboding as Draco began to make his way up to the front of the class, looking just as confused as her.

"It's so nice to have both the Head Boy and Head Girl in this class," Professor Moody said with a beaming smile. "Both of you will notice that your names were not called. This is because you two will be working together."

Hermione gagged. She looked like she had just eaten a vomit-flavored jellybean. The professor noticed her sudden expression and questioned her.

"Would you prefer to work _alone_, Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded eagerly and smiled as if it was a dream come true. She stopped smiling when she realized that Professor Moody was just kidding. Draco didn't say anything or even show any sort of annoyance at the professor's decision. The memory of being turned into a ferret was probably still dancing in his mind.

Professor Moody now directed his attention to the class. "I have put Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy together for a reason. They will be assigned to one of the most difficult curses in the magical world, with one of the most complex counter-curses also. It is called the Satilatrom Sumina Omirped. As the Head Girl and Boy of this school, I have absolute confidence that they will be able to take on this challenge."

He turned to Draco and Hermione now. "The two of you may take a seat."

Draco and Hermione both hurried back into their seats on opposite sides of the room. 

"There's about five minutes left of class. You may use this time to discuss and plan things with your partner."

Hermione, upon returning to her desk, put her head down on it and wondered if this day could possibly get any worse. All around her, the students were all talking to their partners. But she, Hermione Granger, was definitely _not_ going to talk to Draco Malfoy.

"Oh, yes, I forgot to mention. You'll also be graded on how well you work with your partner, as this _is_ a group effort."

Hermione groaned at Professor Moody's words and pulled herself out of her chair, determined to go up and talk to Draco Malfoy, even if it meant she had to swallow her pride. After all, this was for a _grade_.

Just then, the bell rang and everyone packed up all their books and began to leave. Harry and Ron were chatting happily in front of her as they began to slowly file out of the room. Everyone was pushing and shoving to get out of the classroom first, and Hermione was sandwiched between a bunch of people. She looked around for Draco. He was right beside her, she realized. They had reached the doorframe. It was now or never.

"Library. Seven o'clock."

She had said it quietly, but definitely loud enough for him to hear. Not wanting to linger around anymore, she brushed past him and ran to catch up with Harry and Ron.

Draco Malfoy smirked as he heard those words coming from Hermione's mouth. He watched as she ran off to catch up with her friends, Potty and the Weasel. This was perfect, he thought. Because of this project, he had a chance to get closer to her. It was just what he needed. He stood there, lost in his thoughts until Pansy grabbed his arm and the two of them, with the rest of the Slytherin house, began to walk to their next class.

~

When Draco entered the library, he immediately headed for the distant corner where Hermione's table was. She was sitting there, with a mountain of books on the table and scribbling something on the parchment that sat in front of her. Draco approached her tentatively from behind and looked over her shoulder to see what she was writing, his shadow falling over her.

"You're late."

"I never said I was punctual."

She turned her head around to face him, wearing a look of annoyance on her face. "I will expect you to be on time next time."

"Next time? Who says there'll be a next time?"

"Look, Malfoy, I didn't _choose_ to work with you, alright? The only reason I'm putting up with you is because, and _only_ because, I want to get a good mark."

"Ok, what the hell do you want me to do?"

She leaned down and pulled a piece of parchment out from her book bag and handed it to him. "Find these books, you and I need them."

He frowned as he scanned the page. "Some of these are in the restricted section."

"Well, that won't be a problem for you."

Draco chuckled and licked his lips. "So you're saying, _you_ want _me_ to _sneak_ in?"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "How thickheaded can you possibly be, Malfoy? No, of course I wouldn't ask you to steal a book. The Head Boy and Girl are allowed to check out books from the restricted section without permission from the teachers."

"Right, and therefore you couldn't get these books?"

"There's a limited amount I can take out of the restricted section; only ten. So I need you to get the rest of these books."

"Alright," said Draco, feeling a bit dumb that he didn't know all of this and turned around, heading towards the restricted section of the library.

Ten minutes later, he was back, carrying a large load in his arms. If any of his friends had seen him like that, they would think he was possessed. He dumped the books on Hermione's desk and sat down across from her.

He sat there dumbly for a minute before Hermione finally looked up.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Start taking notes!"

"I was thinking that…uh…maybe you could brief me a little about what exactly the two of us are dealing with here?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"Well, you're Granger! You're…a bookworm!"

Hermione nodded her head slowly. "I will take that as a compliment."

"Actually - "

"The Satilatrom Sumina Omirped is a very complex spell that a wizard can put on another person. Of course, it would have to be a very powerful wizard, considering the fact that it is very difficult."

"What exactly does it do?"

"Think of it…as sort of a dementor's kiss. When the spell is performed, it will make the victim's spirit become depressed and then slowly wear away his soul. After a while, the victim's soul will be completely eaten away…and there will be nothing left." Hermione shuddered at her own words.

"This curse is illegal, right?" Draco asked nervously.

"Of course. And there is a counter-course, which is even harder than the actual curse. It requires a lot of different steps, which, as of right now, I don't know. But I think what the two of us have to do right now is to find out about the curse itself. The counter-curse will be dealt with later."

"How do you plan on finding out more about the curse?"

"By reading, of course! I didn't get all these books for nothing!"

"Shouldn't me and you be discussing the facts while reading?"

Hermione thought about this for a second. "You're right. Come sit here by me and you and I can read it together."

Draco got up and moved to the other side of the table where she was sitting at. He sat down and then moved his chair closer to hers so he could get a better view of the book. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black case. He opened the case to reveal a pair of small glasses. Hermione stared as she watched him slide the glasses on.

"You wear glasses?" Hermione asked with surprise. Her usually stern face broke into a smile as a small laugh escaped her.

"And you're laughing because…?"

"I just never thought, you of all people would be wearing glasses!"

"Actually, I think I look rather good in them."

"Are they just for reading?"

"No, I'm supposed to always wear them."

"And you don't?"

"I think they make me look a bit too…serious. You're one of the only few people who have seen me with them on."

"Oh, I feel really honored," Hermione said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "But how can you see without them?"

"I'm not blind, Granger. My vision isn't bad, actually, it's just not perfect."

"To tell you the truth, my vision is actually very terrible. Without glasses, I can't see much at all."

Draco was becoming more and more interested. If you had told him a month ago that he would be sitting here conversing with Hermione Granger, he would have told you that you were completely out of your mind.

"So how do you see?"

"I wear contacts."

"Contacts?"

"They're a muggle product. You put a thin piece of plastic in your eye and then viola! You have perfect vision. I find it easier than glasses."

"Really? Wow, that sounds amazing. Are they in your eyes right now?"

Hermione nodded.

"Can I see?"

"Sure." Hermione pointed at her eye. "It's right there."

Draco leaned in towards her until he was barely inches from her face. He looked into her eyes and what was there surprised him. It wasn't the contacts that caught his attention. It was actually the color of her eyes. They were a blue color, but instead of being the usual boring blue that many people had, her eyes also had so much…depth.

They stayed in that position for a moment, as her eyes mesmerized Draco. It was Hermione who pulled away first, noticing how close she was to him.

"I'm sorry. I got sidetracked. You and I should start on the project."

Draco nodded, secretly wishing that he could look into those eyes of hers, forever. "You're right."

Hermione began to read out loud from the book that was lying out in front of her, but then suddenly stopped after the first paragraph and looked at him.

"You know, you're really not so bad, Malfoy."

Draco smirked. "You like me?"

"No," Hermione said honestly, and Draco had to admit her answer was a bit disappointing. "You just weren't as bad as I imagined."

"Am I really that terrible?"

"Worse."

"Oh. So you and I are just _temporarily_ putting our hatred away for the good of the project?"

"I never said I hated you. _You_ may hate me all you want, though."

"Do you think we'd ever not be enemies? Maybe we could, uh, be a bit more civil to each other."

Hermione sighed. "In all honesty, Malfoy, I don't think we'll _ever_ be friends. But…" and here, she winced.

"But what?"

"But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try."

TBC

~

A/N: Alright…um…IF you read it, well, um…hopefully the next chapter is gonna be better, but it might be a while before the next chapter is posted cuz of school. Soooo…please be patient.


	17. A Look Into The Past

Disclaimer: I don't own nuthin.

A/N: um…this chapter might seem really pointless and off the topic…but it's kinda important to the plot.

thanks to the ppl who reviewed: **Tweetgurl, Harriet Vane, Rebecca, Escritora, may, Tara, bloody raven, f0xyness39, (usagimamoru1@attbi.com), LoPotter, zkiro, Rosa, Twister's Girl**

and thanks to my beta, **Moi**

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 17

His emerald eyes brimmed with tears as he slowly knelt in front of the gravestone and placed a bouquet of roses on the soft grassy ground.

He closed his eyes slowly, and breathed in the scent of the cool morning air.

_"Congratulations!" said Cornelius Fudge as he stuck his hand out._

"Thank you very much, sir," he answered, taking the minister's hand and shaking it.

He turned and looked around the crowded room for his wife. He spotted her easily. To him, she had such a radiant aura surrounding her that he could easily pinpoint her in even the most crowded of places.

She on the other side of the large room, chatting with a few of her friends, with a bright smile on her face. Suddenly, she and her friends burst into laughter. Watching her always brought a smile onto his face, he thought, as the corners of his lips began to twist up. She was his life.

Slowly, making a way through all the people, he approached her from behind. She, apparently too busy in conversation, didn't realize he was there until he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She turned around in surprise.

"Harry!" she laughed and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Doing okay over here?"

"Of course, you?"

He made a puppy face and tried to sound sad. "No. You haven't talk to me all night."

She laughed again. He loved the sound of her laughter. It was like her voice - so clear, like a running brook. He couldn't help but laugh too.

"Congratulations for your promotion, Mr. Potter," she said, trying to imitate a different voice, but burst out laughing in the end again.

Harry winced and made a face. "You can't possibly imagine how many times I've heard that tonight."

"I'm sorry, I know it was my idea for this. I thought you might have wanted your friends over to celebrate."

"It's more like the whole wizarding community."

"Ok, next time, we'll have a nice romantic dinner instead, alright?"

"Mmm…that sounds wonderful."

"Harry, you think you could get me a glass of wine?" she asked suddenly.

"So now I'm your personal slave?" he teased her playfully. "But sure."

"Thanks, Harry."

He kissed her on the cheek and then turned to walk to the table on the opposite side of the room where the food and drinks were. Making his way through the people, a few muttered "Congrats" to him. He poured some wine into a crystal glass and then began to make his way towards his wife again...

"Oh, Mr. Potter! You must be very excited for your new promotion!"

He turned around and saw a very annoying news reporter, who reminded him of Rita Skeeter. "What?"

"I just want to ask you a few questions," she said hurriedly, taking out a small notepad...

He sighed and set the glass of wine down at a small table near him. "I really don't have time for this."

"Just five questions."

He hesitated, but finally very reluctantly nodded. "Fine."

The reporter asked him a string of very dull and stupid questions and after she was finally done, he breathed a sigh of relief, turned around to pick up the glass of wine, and then continued towards his wife.

"There you are," she said as he approached her. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I was held up by this - "

"It's alright, Harry, don't worry about it."

He handed her the glass. "Here, I got you what you wanted, your Majesty."

She laughed and took the glass from his hands. "Thank you."

"I love you so much."

"Wow, that was random."

"I just wanted to remind you."

"Don't worry, I'll never forget."

"Don't you have something to say back to me? Like, a three word phrase maybe?"

She laughed again, and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you, Harry."

"That was four words."

"I wanted it to be original."

"Really?"

She took a sip of the wine. "Really."

"How are the kids?"

She took another sip. "They're with the nanny, of course."

"I was thinking-"

She stumbled back, as if she was drunk and then shut her eyes tightly and then opened them again.

"Are you feeling ok?"

She squeezed her eyes shut again. "I'm fine…I just…don't feel so good."

"You want to lie down?"

"No, no, I'm fine."

By now, a large crowd had gathered around them to see what was wrong. She stumbled backwards again, but regained her footing.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. "I-"

And then he watched as her eyes rolled up and her slim body fell backwards as if it was in slow motion. He saw her fingers let go of the glass of wine and her body fell. He watched, as if in a trance, as the crystal glass fell slowly to the floor, where it shattered, spilling the blood red wine onto the marble.

Then everything went blank. He remembered rushing to her side, a feeling of dread coming over him. He shook her, trying to get her to wake up. But she never did.

He opened his eyes and then squeezed them shut again, as the tears began to pour. When he opened his eyes again, he stared mesmerized at the gravestone that stood in front of him.

_I love you…_

He buried his face in his hands and let his emotions overtake him.

"Harry."

He turned around and searched for the speaker.

"Hi, Ginny."

"Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I knew I'd find you here," she said, with a faraway look on her face. "You come here every Saturday morning."

"I miss her."

"We all do."

"She shouldn't have died."

"It wasn't your fault."

"She was _poisoned_! And I…I was the one who gave her that glass of wine."

"That doesn't make it your fault."

"I remember I stopped to talk to that reporter and set the glass down. I gave someone the chance to put the poison in!"

Ginny sighed. "I was there, remember? I know."

"What kind of a heartless creature would want to kill her?"

She paused for a second. "Cho was an auror, and one of the best. Many people would have wanted her dead."

Harry shook his head slowly. "I should have died instead."

"Harry, don't say that."

He stood up from the ground and placed his hands in his pockets. "So what really are you doing here?"

She paused. "I wanted to see you."

"Anything else?"

She looked deep into his green eyes. "I-"

"What?"

She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak. "W-why-"

"Why what? Ginny, what's wrong?"

She swallowed hard. "Why can't you love me?"

He took a step back. "Ginny…what?"

"Why can't you love me the way that I love you?" Her voice faltered and she choked back a sob. "Why?"

Harry looked at her and sighed. "Ginny, you're a great friend. But…we're just not meant to be."

"Do you think you're meant to be with Cho? If so, then why the hell is she dead? What if you were supposed to be with somebody else?"

"Ginny, you don't know what you're talking ab-"

"Harry, I know exactly what I'm talking about!" she screamed, her face wet with tears. "I know I love you. And I know you don't love me."

"Gin, it's not like that -"

"It's alright. I don't need you, Harry Potter," she said his name with bitterness and contempt.

"Listen, Gin-"

She covered her ears and sobbed hysterically. Finally, she just spun around and ran off, out of the cemetery, with her red curls flying in the wind.

_I don't need you…_

~

The room was very dark, but one could tell that it was very lavishly decorated. The only source of light came from a small cackling fireplace. The flames danced and sent shadows over the walls.

Before the fireplace, there sat a large, comfortable armchair, made from some sort of exotic material, maybe dragonhide. The armchair was so large that from the back, one would not be able to tell that someone was sitting it, because there was, in fact, someone sitting in it.

It was a handsome young man, with dark ebony hair and a pair of vivid blue eyes. Although he looked rather young, like as if he was in his early twenties, his eyes said otherwise. They held too much knowledge - knowledge that he had gained over almost a century.

The man was starting into the fire, as if he was seeking some sort of truth. The flames and sparks pulled him into his memories. Memories of a time when things were so simple…and life was so wonderful. He closed his eyes and willingly let them flood through him.

_The headmaster had wanted to see him, as he had just heard from a professor, so he was hurrying towards_ _Headmaster Dippet's office. He wondered what it could possibly be about. After all, it had not been many times that he had been called urgently to the headmaster's office. He hoped dearly that nothing bad had happened._

As he approached the gargoyle, he spoke the password, and it jumped aside. He hurried up the stairs and finally reached the door. He knocked twice.

"Enter."

He turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open. Inside, he saw Headmaster Dippet sitting there wearing a very tired expression, and Professor Dumbledore, one of his least favorite teachers.

"Have a seat."

"Yes, sir."

"You are the Head Boy, and the best student this school has ever had, so when we were faced with this dilemma today, we decided to ask you to help us, if possible."

"What is it, sir?"

Professor Dippet sighed and stood up from his chair. "As you know, there are many rooms in Hogwarts, and many of them have magical powers. A few hours before, a girl stumbled across one of these rooms on accident."

"What kind of magical power did that room have?"

"It takes a person to a different time."

"What? So a student in our school was warped into a different time?"

"Actually, she's here."

"What do you mean she's here, sir? Didn't you just say that-"

"She stumbled across the room in the future and has been transferred to our time."

His eyes opened wide. "So…she's here…but what do I have to do with this?"

"There is a way to take her back to her own time. But it requires a lot of effort and time. You must perform a very difficult spell, which is also very dangerous because just as when you apparate and a part of a person's body can be left behind, it can also happen in time traveling. We would like you to perform this spell for her."

"I am honored, sir. But, why not just ask another more qualified professor to perform it?"

"The professors at this school are all very busy, and the curse would take a lot of time and research to perform. It is excruciatingly difficult, but we believe you can do it."

"When can I do it?"

"Next month, at this same date and time that she arrived, you must perform it. The spell is very complex. I suggest you practice a lot before you are to do it."

"So, the girl, what are you going to do about her?"

Professor Dumbledore, who had remained quiet this whole time, finally spoke up. "She will pretend she is a visiting student. You, as Head Boy, will show her around the school, and be her guide."

"Yes, sir." He wondered who this student was and what she was like.

"She will be placed in your house, and you will have full responsibility over her."

"Yes, sir."

"Would you like to meet her now?"

"Yes, sir."

Professor Dumbledore moved to the door on the left side of the room. He motioned for him to follow him. He did as he was told. The professor opened the door slowly, and inside, stood a young girl, who was around his age. Her big green eyes stood out luminously and her long strawberry colored hair was framed around her face. All he could do was stare.

"Mr. Riddle, meet Miss Evans."

~

"Ow! Stop pushing me!"

"Be quiet you two, or else Filch will find us and skin us!"

"Becca, what exactly are we looking for?"

The three of them were wrapped under the invisibility cloak and were heading towards the restricted section in the library.

"I told you already, Chris."

"Well, tell me again, 'cause I forgot."

Becca sighed. "Okay, okay. There's a student record I want to find."

"A student record?" asked Alex. "How's that going to help us?"

"Gosh! Listen, it has every student's information - very single student that has ever come to Hogwarts. I bet I can find something about my mother and father in there."

"Oh," Alex said as he scratched his head. "I see."

"So where exactly is it?"

"I have no idea. I guess we'll find out."

They removed the invisibility cloak from their bodies and then began to search the shelves desperately.

"I think this is it," said Alex, after about five minutes of searching.

Becca and Chris both rushed over and took a look at the book in his hands, and sure enough, it was exactly what they had been trying to find. The three excitedly brought the thick book over to a table where they began flipping through the pages. They were so mesmerized in the book that they didn't notice a figure approaching them cautiously.

"What are you guys doing here at this hour?"

The three of them screamed in fright and faced the intruder. It was Hermione.

"Professor Granger," Becca said nervously.

A second later, Argus Filch arrived, wearing a nasty grin on his face. "I heard screaming."

The three kids looked pleadingly at their professor.

"Uh…we're conducting an experiment right now, Argus. It's nothing to worry about. We'll be done soon."

Mr. Filch looked terribly disappointed. He sneered and then turned and walked out of the library with heavy steps.

"What are you three doing out here so late?"

"Uh…we uh…had a sudden urge to read a book."

"What's that you are reading?" Hermione asked curiously.

Becca covered the title of the book. "Uh…"

"Mind if I look at it?"

Becca looked nervously at Alex, and then at Chris. She swallowed hard and then handed the large book to Professor Granger.

Hermione took one look at it and laughed. "I see you have been wandering in the restricted section."

Becca stood up confidently. "I swear it was all my fault. They had nothing to do with it. They were trying to stop me, but I wouldn't listen. It's really all my fault. Really."

"Relax, it's alright. Everyone sneaks into the restricted section."

"So…you're not going to tell on us?" asked Chris.

Hermione shook her head. "Of course not. Here, sit down."

The four of them sat down in the table and Hermione opened the book in front of her.

"What would you want this book for? It's all records."

"Uh…we…uh…" Becca was about to tell the professor the truth, but then she got a great idea. "Professor Granger, did you know my parents?"

Hermione was taken aback. "What?"

"Did you know my mother and father?"

"Your parents?"

"Yes, Draco and Pansy Malfoy."

This just confirmed Hermione's worst nightmares. So, Becca was indeed Draco and Pansy's daughter. "Er…I suppose."

"So you did?"

"I believe they were in my year, but I wasn't terribly close to them," she lied. "I don't think I've ever really talked to any of them."

"Oh," said Becca, feeling rather disappointed. "Were they already a couple during school?"

Hermione paused to take a deep breath and then forced a smile. "I believe so. As I said, I didn't know them very well, and only very rarely talked to either of them."

Hermione was getting very uncomfortable and decided that she wanted to leave before she had a chance to let something slip. "Um…I should probably go now. You guys have fun, and don't stay up too late."

And with that, she hurried out of the library, leaving the three kids staring after her.

"Geez, she's got some problems," said Alex.

"Alex, that's awful!"

"Well, it's true!"

"Ok, let's change the subject. Lemme look through this book."

The entries in the book were in alphabetical order and it didn't take them very long to find Parkinson, Pansy. There was a whole page of information and then a few photographs.

"You mom's really beautiful."

"And you don't look like her one bit."

"Hey, _thanks_ Chris!"

"No, I mean, you're really pretty too, but you don't look like her."

Becca rolled her eyes.

"It says she was a prefect her seventh year, and she was a Slytherin."

"Ok, so she was a Slytherin. Now everything's so confusing! I don't know what's going on!

"Look, Becca, we'll look up your dad now, ok? Maybe that'll help."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm just a bit disappointed that there isn't much here." She began to flip through the book again, looking for her father's name. Finally, she found it. It looked the same as her mother's: a page of information and a page of pictures.

"Wow, my father looked a lot younger."

"Well, duh, it's been more than a decade."

"Your dad was Head Boy!"

"Yeah, I guess. He must have been smart."

"It doesn't say much though, at least not much about what we're looking for."

"You know what, Becca, I bet that this whole thing about you getting sorted into Gryffindor is completely unrelated to your parents. If you think about it, maybe the Sorting Hat just thought you had some Gryffindor potential and it just sort of added in the whole mother part on accident. Because I heard that the Sorting Hat makes lots of mistakes, you know. So I wouldn't worry about it because-" he didn't finish because he realized that her attention was not centered on him. She was staring open eyed at the book, and her mouth was dropped. Curious, he glanced over to what she was looking at.

She was staring at one of the pictures on the page. The two boys leaned over and finally realized what she was looking at. There, at the bottom left hand corner, was a tiny, blurry photograph. At first they were confused because they couldn't understand what relevance this had to anything. After looking closer, it finally dawned on the two boys that in all the other pictures, her father was shown with either some of his Slytherin guy friends or with her mother. In this picture, he was holding hands with a girl, but she didn't have the dark hair that Becca's mother had. Instead, her hair was a very pretty golden brown color, and shone brightly in the sun. The two of them were standing by the lake, staring into the sunset and looking very happy. They were also turned a bit to the side, and it looked like the picture was taken without their knowledge.

"Is that your dad?"

Becca nodded dumbly.

"Well, if that's your dad, then who's that girl?"

"I don't know," she said in a quiet whisper, as if she couldn't believe what she had just seen.

"Do you recognize her?"

"No, the picture's too blurry. All I know that is the guy in the picture is _definitely_ my father. No question about it."

"I wonder who that girl is."

"I need to find out who it is," she said quietly, in a rather disembodied voice.

It dawned on her at that moment that there were probably a billion secrets that were hidden from her. And she had every intention of finding them out.

TBC

~

A/N: um…yeah. I hafta do my hw! Well, um, please review! It would be really appreciated!


	18. Of Butterbeers And Vines

Disclaimer: Nothing here is mine and it never will be.

A/N: sorry that it took soooooo long to get this chapter out. It's just that I've had so much homework and stuff. And I just totally bombed my english test on the crucible. Soooo…yeah….life is great. (sarc).

This chapter is sooooo boring that it could be used as a cure for insomnia, seriously. It took me like, a whole month to write it because I just couldn't keep writing cuz I'd fall asleep after a few sentences.

Anyhow, a bunch of thanks to everyone who reviewed: **Just to be me, AlyBaby, Merusa/RedVixen, Escritora, Tweetgurl, Blimey411, Rosa, blank/no name, Rebecca, Akuma Canadian Angel, BoOtYbAbY, bloody raven, Danny, rei, another no name/blank, dracosrockstar, kumiko, depth, katy, hermiolil malfoy, Qrackie, Kiara, Staci, Andrea, Moontrail**

And I think (I'm not quite sure cuz I can't remember, it was so long ago) that there was someone who email me about my story. I read the email, but like, aol deleted it after 7 days, cuz it has this stupid thing that deletes your mail automatically after 7 days, which really pisses me off. Soooo, if you sent that email, I'm sorry I dunno who you are, due to aol's stupdity, but thanks!

Oh yeah, and sorry, this is unbeta'd cuz I didn't have time to send it to her cuz this was the only time like in a week that I could post it, and I didn't wanna wait a week to post it cuz it's already been like, more than a month. (that was a really long run on sentence, hahaha).

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 18

__

Flashback

"_Ron!_ That's absolutely disgusting! _Really_, just leave it alone!" Hermione exclaimed as she knelt down on the dirt path next to Ron.

"Wait a minute, won't you? I want to see if it's alive."

"Ron, stop prodding at it, will you? You're making me sick," Hermione said, exasperated, frowning down at the small animal that was lying in a pool of blood on the road. "Harry, you tell him!"

Harry, who was also kneeling down, grabbed a stick and then proceeded to help Ron try to turn it over.

"Harry, I really can't believe you! Honestly, you two, _grow up_!"

Harry and Ron, pretending as if they couldn't hear her, used their sticks as chopsticks, and were able to finally turn the mutilated animal around.

"Oh, my God!" Hermione's eyes grew wide as she studied the small creature carefully. "I-It's a revola!"

Harry raised one of his eyebrows. "And…that would be?"

"They're really rare. Actually, they're almost _extinct_!" Hermione said with an air of authority. "Ron, Harry, you _have_ got to take it to Madame Pomfrey! I think it's still alive, you've got to save it!"

Ron and Harry looked at each other quizzically and then turned to face Hermione with a questioning look.

"Right, so _you_ want _us_ to walk _all_ the way back to the castle, just to save _this_?"

Hermione sighed with frustration. "It's a called a _revola_! And no, I don't want you to _walk_ all the way back to the castle. I want you to _run_ all the way back to the castle! It's almost dead!"

"So why don't we just leave it to die?"

"You two have absolutely no feelings, do you? I told you, it's a _revola_!" Hermione glared at her two best friends. "They're going _extinct_!"

"Okay, fine, Hermione, Ron and I will take it back to the castle, alright?" Harry said, after seeing the determined look on her face.

Hermione smiled defiantly at her best friend. "You're the best, Harry!"

"Hey, what about me?"

Hermione turned her nose up into the air smugly and ignored him.

"Here, I'll pick it up."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, snapping out of her snobbery. "You can't just _pick it up!"_

"Why not?"

"What if it has a disease?" she asked, as if that was totally obvious. She reached into her black robes and pulled out her nicely polished wand. "Mobilius!"

Slowly, the small creature floated up into the air, wobbling a little bit.

"There! Now you can take it!"

"Alright," said Harry as he stood up. He beckoned for Ron to follow him. "Come on."

"Aren't you coming with us, Hermione?" asked Ron.

Hermione shook her head. "I'll just wait here for you guys, okay? There's this book I've been wanting to finish reading that I've brought. Hurry up."

The two boys nodded and then began to walk away on the narrow dirt path that they had originally come from, towards the castle.

"Leave it to Hermione to ruin such a good Hogsmeade weekend," Ron whispered quietly to Harry when they were quite a distance away.

"Aww, Ron. You don't mean that!

Ron turned his head around and snuck a look at her, sitting on a large gray rock on the side of the road, her eyes boring into the open pages of the book that she had brought. Seeing her sitting there so peacefully, he realized how much he loved her.

~

"Draco!"

He let out a deep breath as he watched a very pretty blond haired girl rush out of the corridor to the side and place herself in front of him. 

__

Oh fuck.

"Draco! I was thinking that maybe you and I could walk to Hogsmeade together and-"

"Do I know you?" he cut in, putting on a very agitated look.

The girl's cheery face fell as she realized what he had just said. "W-What? Draco?"

"Are you done?"

"But, Draco!" The girl said, looking confused. "I'm Alison!"

"Al- _what_? If you're done, would kindly step out of my way?"

She glanced into his eyes, hoping to find some comfort, but all she could see was his coldness. Her eyes welled up slowly and her tears threatened to fall.

"You don't mean that!" she exclaimed, almost as if she was trying to reassure herself. There was no answer and her face twisted up in an excruciatingly painful way. "But I love you!"

"Oh, how sweet," he replied, showing absolutely no remorse. In fact, it looked as if he was enjoying it. "Maybe if you had been a little bit better in bed I might have remembered you."

"I thought you said you loved me," she said, her voice barely a whisper. She swallowed hard and forced her tears back.

He shook his head and scoffed. "And I thought you had a brain."

She stood speechless in front of him, and her tears began to fall like rain drops.

"Is it possible that you could move aside?" he asked, sounding as if nothing had happened. 

The girl covered her face in her hands and ran past him, brushing the side of his robe as she darted down the dark hallway, her sobs echoing down the hall.

He looked absolutely unperturbed as he listened to her footsteps fade in the distance. The only thing did he do, however, was to study the sleeve of his black robe where she had touched as him as she ran by. He had a disgusted look on his face as he brushed the sleeve with his hand, as if trying to get something dirty off.

~

The dirt path in front of him was covered with freshly made shoeprints, he noticed, as he strolled along. He was already more than three quarters the way there, he knew, because he had just passed the great oak tree, and this being his seventh year at Hogwarts, he knew well that the tree meant he was almost to the small village of Hogsmeade. 

He was alone on the road. No one was within visual distance either in front or behind him. He knew that he was one of the last people to leave the school because Snape had wanted to talk to him about submitting one of his experiments to a potions fair. All of his fellow Slytherin friends had already left the school probably a half an hour before. Although Pansy said that she could wait for him, if that was his wish, he informed her that that was absolutely unnecessary.

In all truth, he actually liked it this way. It was nice to just be by himself once in a while, without all the chitchat and the giggling all around him. It gave him a nice sense of…calmness.

As he rounded the corner, he noticed that there was a person on a large rock on the left side of the road. A small smile formed on his lips as he took the in the view.

The large rock was in the middle of a small meadow to the side of the road. The grass was a radiant green color and behind the meadow, there was a dense forest. The green of the grass and the green of the trees contrasted beautifully. The girl was laying on the large rock on her side, with her knees slightly bent. One arm supported her head as the other held a thick book open. The sunlight shone on her and she looked as if she was glowing. The light reflected off her golden brown hair, and it seemed as though there was a golden halo on her head. 

The picture he was seeing now reminded him of a fairytale princess - one of those princesses who were enchantingly beautiful, but always had some terrible curse cast upon them or some terrible flaw. He stared dreamily at the fair maiden on the rock and imagined what possibly could be her flaw because there evidently wasn't one.

He began to carefully approach the girl, as if he didn't want to stir her from her tranquil state. Not noticing where he was stepping, he lost his footing, which caused as a small rock to roll down the small decline in the path. The maiden sensed that there was movement near, and her eyes shot up from the book.

The first thing that came into his mind was that she had very pretty eyes - a peaceful blue color, surrounded by dark lashes. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Malfoy, now _really_, are you stalking me?"

He head made a small jerk as he snapped out of his reverie.

"Really, it doesn't quite suit you." The girl put her book down on the rock, which uncovered the half of her face that was hidden behind it.

It was at that moment that he realized what her flaw was. Her name was Hermione Granger - that was her flaw.

"You have quite an imagination, Granger."

Hermione used her arms to prop herself into a sitting position on the gray rock and flipped her brown hair back in a frustrated way.

"Has Potter and Weasley left you all alone here? What a pity. I almost thought they were your friends."

"You know, Malfoy, something seems really different about you today," she said, ignoring his previous comment, and pretending to frown in thought. "Oh, yes, it must be the absence of your usual crowd of whores."

"Look here, Granger, I didn't come to pick a fight."

"Oh, really? How silly of me to think that of you," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Can I buy you a butterbeer?" he blurted out suddenly, figuring that it was worth a try.

A frown began to form on Hermione's face as she pondered this. On one hand, she thought that maybe Draco Malfoy had a sudden metamorphosis that was changed from the arrogant jerk that he was, and that she should give him a chance. She abruptly dismissed that thought on the basis that she knew that a Malfoy being friendly would be about as likely as McGonagall not assigning any homework on weekends.

"No," she answered flatly.

"There's no harm in getting a drink with me."

"Actually, I'm in the process of waiting for Harry and Ron to get here."

"If they see that you're not here, they'll think you've gotten bored and walked to Hogsmeade already and sooner or later, they'll find you in the Three Broomsticks."

"No, they won't. If they don't find me here, they'll think I've been dragged off into the forest by one of Hagrid's pets and been eaten, and all that's left of me is a pile of bones and cartilage."

"You're too smart for that," he said, knowing that this statement would please her.

Hermione had to try hard not to let the corners of her mouth twist up into the smile that they threatened to form.

"Well…" she began.

"Well what? It'll be fun. If you get really bored, we could always talk about how we're going to do our project."

This idea was rather tempting. Although they had spent a few hours at the library researching the curse, they hadn't ever gotten around to actually _start_ the project, which she so desperately wanted to do.

"Alright, fine."

Draco's face broke into a wide grin. "Good."

Hermione picked up the book that she had put on the rock and slid off the cool gray stone. She began to follow behind Draco as he started off onto the path. Once in a while, he'd look back to check and see if she was coming with him. Every time he checked, he saw her just a few feet behind him, her nose stuck into the book that she was reading. He reminded himself to ask her about it once they got to the Three Broomsticks.

~

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Hermione asked, puzzled, as she pulled out a wooden stool and sat upon it.

"That," he said, pointing to the book that she was holding in her hand.

"Oh!" she said, as she finally realized what he was talking about. "It's a book? Ever heard of it?"

"I _know_ it's a book, Granger," he replied impatiently, waving his hand as if he was dismissing a servant. "I meant, _what_ book?"

She laid the book down in front of him, with the title facing up.

"Romeo and Juliet," he read out loud. "Never heard of it."

"It's a muggle book."

"Oh," he said, with a bit of disgust in his voice.

"It's one of my favorites, actually. Shakespeare uses such beautiful language, you know. I wish I could write as well as him."

"What's it about?"

"It's about Romeo and Juliet."

"I sort of had that figured out."

"Okay, so Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet and their two families have been enemies for ages. But it's so romantic because they fall in love…" she explained with a dreamy, far away look in her eyes.

"How pointless," he said, bringing her out of her dreamy state.

"It's very very good," she corrected him. "You can borrow it if you want. Once you read it, you'll change your mind."

"I don't think so."

"Try it," she urged, as she pushed the book closer to him.

Draco was feeling terribly uncomfortable. Of course, he didn't want to read the book. After all, he hated romance novels. They were so…meaningless. But he wanted to please her, so he knew there was only one thing he could do.

"Alright."

Her face broke into a delighted smile and she took a sip of her butterbeer. "We should really start on the project, you know. The curse requires the use of the anima vine. We should probably go to find some of it."

"Where would we find it?"

"Well, I did do some research. I'm pretty sure that it grows in the forbidden forest and we can get Dumbledore's permission to go into it."

"Alright, when shall we go?"

"Well," she said, thinking on it. "We could go this afternoon after Hogsmeade. I'll run by Dumbledore's office and ask for his permission and I'll meet you by Hagrid's hut at 5 o'clock and - "

"Oi! Hermione!"

Hermione immediately turned around and searched for the two familiar faces of her best friends.

"Hey, Ron, Harry! Over here!" she yelled after she spotted them near the entrance.

The two boys hurried over to her, but stopped once they realized that she was sitting next to none other than Draco Malfoy.

"What's _he_ doing here?" asked Ron, eyeing him with venom.

"I have other matters to attend to. I must be leaving now," said Draco, not wanting to start a fight in front of Hermione. But, he couldn't help adding in a loud voice, "So, I'll see you at five?"

He hoped that it was loud enough for Ron to hear, and sure enough, it created an extremely angry expression on him. Draco turned to leave, wearing a smirk on his face, and seeing Ron's glare out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes," Hermione answered, nodding, oblivious to Ron's anger and resentment.

"Why are you meeting with him?" Ron questioned her after Draco had left the place.

"It's that project we have to do, Ron. We've decided to get a head start on it," she replied, as if nothing was the matter. Ron was still frowning.

From the other side of the table, Harry laughed. "Ron, it's just a project!"

"Yes, but...but…" he started uneasily, "I'd be careful of Malfoy, Hermione. He's…rather…"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "I know, Ron. You don't have to keep reminding me."

She returned to reading her book, shrugging off all thoughts of Ron's warnings.

~

"Late again," she informed him as she glanced down at her watch.

"I'm perfectly on time."

"You're exactly three minutes and forty one seconds late," she said, as a matter of factly.

"Your watch is wrong," he said. "My watch is right and it says I'm thirteen seconds early."

"Alright, who really cares," she exclaimed, agitated. "We'd better get started. Follow me."

She pulled a small flashlight out of her pocket and held it in her hand as she slowly began to make her way into the thick forest. Although Draco usually liked to be the one in charge, he let her lead the way. This was due to the fact that he had absolutely no idea where they were going to find this vine, whatever it was called, and Hermione seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"What exactly are we looking for?" he asked, brushing aside a tree branch to get through.

"I'm trying to find a big muddy spot, sort of swampy. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, swampy wet area with lots of mud."

They were already deep into the forest and Draco noticed that it seemed like it was night already, because of the lack of light. The giant trees blocked out almost all the sunlight, and it was now that Draco realized why Hermione had brought her flashlight. It came in rather handy for her and he wished he had brought one too.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of crawling through branches and bushes on the cold soil, the ground seemed to become wetter and wetter.

"I do believe we are approaching a rather muddy area," Hermione said, as she tested the ground for firmness. "Come on."

She began to make her way swiftly through the mud, which Draco had a hard time doing because he was wearing tennis shoes and they suck about a foot into the mud every time he took a step. He discovered that she was wearing big boots and silently cursed to himself for not having thought of doing that. The mud sank into his shoes, and every step he took felt like stepping on a wet slug.

He was hoping that it would get better, but much to his dismay, the mud only got muddier. Now, with every step he took, the mud sank up to his knees. Finally, Hermione stopped, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We'll start here," she said.

"You could have told me to bring boots!"

"I'm sorry," she replied, although not looking very sorry at all. "I figured you would have had more sense in you."

"So what do we do here?"

"We're looking for the anima vine. It lives under thick mud. That's just about all the books tell about it."

"Do you mean to tell me, that we're going to have to bury ourselves in the mud trying to look for it? Are you crazy?"

"If you really don't want to do this, feel free to leave," she said coldly.

Hermione started to unbutton her black Hogwarts robes, and soon removed them from her body. Inside, she was wearing the usual Hogwarts uniform - a small white button-up blouse, and a navy blue miniskirt. The sleeves of her blouse were three quarter lengths and she rolled them up farther in an attempt to try to keep them clean from the mud. She didn't notice how short her skirt was until she caught Draco staring at it, in which she blushed and tried to pull it down a bit. It wasn't her fault, anyhow, that it was so short. The Hogwarts uniform store sold the skirts in different waist sizes, but only in one length. And considering that she had long legs, it made the skirt look even shorter. It was for this reason that Hermione liked to keep her black robe on at all times.

She reached her arms down into the mud, looking at it as if it were some sort of diseased slime. After searching with her arms for about a minute, she stood up to wipe the sweat off her forehead and saw Draco undressing himself also.

She couldn't help but stare as he eased off his black robe to reveal gray shirt that just had to be a muggle creation. It matched his eyes well, she thought. Underneath, she couldn't exactly tell what he was wearing because it was so covered in mud, but it looked like khaki pants. Although it was dark, she could tell that he was very toned, and for the first time in her life, she just had to admit that he was very good looking.

"Like what you see?" he asked arrogantly, the infamous smirk hanging on his face.

She blushed and looked away. "You're violating the Hogwarts School Dress Code, you know."

"Oh, really? How so?"

"Let's see. Number one, you're not wearing a white button-up shirt with a collar, but instead you're wearing a muggle shirt! I never thought I'd see the day when you'd go near anything muggle product, much less wear it!" she said, with a tone of authority. "And then there's those pants of yours which are so covered in mud now that they could possibly pass for navy blue, but I doubt that they really are."

"So what are you going to do about it?" he asked toying with her.

"I think I'm going to have to report you," she teased, and then out of the blue, she scooped up a handful of mud and threw it at him. He didn't have time to dodge it and it hit him directly in the face.

They proceeded to have a nice little mud flight in which they both became very much covered in mud. It was Hermione who finally suggested that they stop and start trying to find the vine. Working together, they were able to locate some of it about three feet under the mud and use a small pocket knife to cut a piece of it off.

By the time they stepped out of the forest, every inch of their bodies were layered with mud. The two of them ran quickly to the nearest shower they could find and began to rinse themselves down with hot water. It was a terribly tiring and frustrating job considering that the mud had dried onto their skin and clothes and was near impossible to get off. After showering with their clothes on, the two of them retreated to their own rooms to clean up and get ready for dinner.

Hermione knew that her friends would be worried about her, especially Ron. It was approaching eight o'clock and she knew that dinner was almost over. She put on some fresh clothes and raced down to the Great Hall, her stomach grumbling with hunger, and the day's event still playing in her mind.

TBC

~

A/N: well, if you got this far, then I totally commend you cuz I totally would not be able to. Yeah, I kno the chapter ending is stupid and stupid and stupider, but I was just sooooo bored I just wanted to end it, so I didn't even bother trying to make it decent.

Ahhhh!!!!!!!! Well, now I hafta go do my mountains of hw, so…ciao everyone!

Oh yeah, please review, even if you're just gonna say "this is boring." I just like reading reviews cuz I think they're fun! =)

~meg~


	19. The Mandrakes

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!!!!

A/N: ok well sorry for the long delay, school has been killing me!!! Literally. Um…this chapter was very hastily written cuz I just wanted to post something…cuz I haven't for quite a long time. And then I sent it to my beta reader like a week ago and she hasn't replied yet…so I decided to post it anyways cuz it's been like months since I've updated. Um…well…I'm sorry to those of you who hate anything besides d/hr, but I had to add stuff about other characters cuz it's important to the plot…IT IS IMPORTANT TO THE PLOT!! I mean, I hate writing any stuff other than d/hr, but the stuff about other ppl is IMPORTANT, even tho you may hate it, so sorry and don't get mad at me! And you may really really hate the other character pairings in this story, but I really can't help it because it's crucial, so please, don't get mad at me…*whimpers at the sight of tomatoes*…

Thanks to the ppl who reviewed: **Depth, Rebecca Anne, heavengurl899, bloody raven, beth-e, Rebecca, poopookachoo, Jax McDerby, MoonTrail, nicole** - my school is in a small little town to the northwest of Santa Fe in NM and we had to read the crucible and then now we're reading the great gatsby**, foxyness39, arimel, AlyBaby, Merusa, Jockaroo, dracoNmione, glory, zkiro, Nazgul13, silent serenade, Lulu, dork4life53, dracosrockstar, Danny, DrAcOlUvA99, aznlady, Akuma Kanada no Tenchi, Ragazza Doulce, buttercup09, Moi, Tinuviel, tweetgurl, Queen of the Roses, mary, chesterpie, HouAreYouToday, stace, silvinaanne, yunie, A.K, and anybody else I missed…**

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 19

"As I explained during our last class, today we're going out into the forbidden forest to make observations of any interesting animals you might see."

A hand shot up into the air.

"Yes?"

"Isn't it against the rules to go into the forest?" asked a plump little boy, who looked rather scared at the thought of going into the forest.

"This class has special permission from the Headmaster to enter the forest."

"Isn't it…dangerous?"

"There's nothing to fear," said Hermione, the corner of her mouth twitching as she fought back a laugh. "You're all going to be under my supervision and I believe all of you are responsible enough. Oh, yes, and please remember to take notes in the format that I showed you during the last class, and please include a picture of the animal - it only has to be a sketch. And if you see something that looks like it might be harmful, please stay away from it. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep yourself safe," she said with almost a worried expression on her face.

"What exactly is the point of this?" asked a yawning raven-haired girl, who was a Slytherin.

"Oh, well to learn how to defend yourself against dangerous animals, and other forest creatures, you must study them and learn their weaknesses, and such. Of course there won't be any terribly dangerous creatures because we'll only be on the outskirts of the forest. So please, now, just take what you need, and head out the door."

The children lined up in single file and began to slowly shuffle out of the classroom.

"Oh, yes, and please remember, we'll be passing by the greenhouses so you can wave a hello to Professor Sprout if you see her, to be polite."

Hermione followed at the end of the line of the students. Although they walked in a nice single file line, she did have to scold them once or twice because their whispers and mumbles were getting a bit too loud, and there were classes in session all around them. As soon as they stepped outside the castle, they scattered and began to run on the flowing green grass towards the forest. Hermione yelled for them to slow down, as was typical of teachers to do, but they were all too excited to listen to her.

After they had gotten a bit farther out, Hermione could make out the outlines of the greenhouses all sitting in a nice straight row, and she could see her students as tiny dots, rapidly approaching the greenhouses. Then without warning, the tiny dots near the greenhouses began to drop like flies.

Hermione, realizing that something was wrong, began to pick up her pace and ran faster towards the fallen children, shouting warnings to all of her students who had not been affected yet. In the turmoil, it seemed like none of them heeded her warning. More and more of her students began to fall to the ground, as soon as they neared the greenhouses, and Hermione began to panic.

Hermione, trying to find the source of the problem, was close enough to finally see a very worried Professor Sprout run out from behind greenhouse number four. She was waving her hand frantically, as if trying to get the children to stay far away. Hermione wondered why Professor Sprout was unharmed by whatever it was that was affecting her pupils.

She quickened her pace, and when she got even closer, she finally discovered what was wrong. Professor Sprout was wearing earmuffs. Not knowing what else she should do, she automatically covered her ears with her hands, yelling at the children to do the same.

Professor Sprout was running towards her now, and when she reached her, quickly pulled her into an empty greenhouse. The children who had not yet fallen, and had been covering their ears followed their two professors into the greenhouse.

"Hermione! The mandrakes! I was replanting the mandrakes outside!"

"Oh, my God! The children! Oh, my God!"

"I should have put up a warning sign, but I had no idea that someone would be passing by the greenhouses."

"What are we going to do about the children?" Hermione asked. She hesitated to ask the second question, because she really didn't want to hear the answer, but knew it was necessary. "Are the mandrakes fully grown yet?"

The professor shook her head. "I don't know! They've been growing for about two months. They're near to being adults, I believe."

"What are we going to do about the students? Will they live?"

"There's no way to tell right now. Let's just hope that the mandrakes hadn't been grown to their killing age just yet!"

"When will we know?"

"It may take weeks for the kids to wake up, if they do."

"Oh, my God! What am I going to do?"

"Here, put on some earmuffs. The greenhouses are soundproof, but once we get outside, it'll be mandrakes screaming at full blast. We've got to get the kids out of there," she said, indicating at the children who were laying unconscious all over the green grass. "The longer they are exposed, the worse their condition will be."

"Alright," said Hermione as she donned the fluffy blue earmuffs, and faced to speak to the remaining unaffected students, who, as she counted with dismay, came to the number of four. "I need you to put on some earmuffs and run to Madame Pomfrey and explain our situation."

The terrified kids just stared back at her.

She began to conjure up earmuffs and hand them out to each of the remaining kids. "Put these on securely and please go and fetch Madame Pomfrey as fast as you can."

They took the earmuffs with trembling hands and fastened them tightly around their ears. Then Professor Sprout, signaling to ask if they were all ready, got thumbs up signs, threw open the door to the greenhouse and all of them set out on the rescue mission.

~

The usually very neat and spacey hospital wing was now crowded and jammed as new beds were conjured up and set between others so that everything seemed too…well, squished. Each bed held an unconscious child, resting as if in peace. However, the situation was far from peaceful.

"Oh, my God! I'm so terribly sorry. I didn't know. I-"

"Hermione, they're all alive and sooner or later, they will wake up," said Poppy Pomfrey, patting Hermione's arm gently in a comforting gesture.

"They _could_ have died! And then I would have had to live with that for the rest of my life!"

"They're _not_ dead, Hermione."

Suddenly the door to the hospital wing swung open and Albus Dumbledore stepped in, wearing a very exhausted look on his face.

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, calling him what she had in her old school days because she felt like a child who had just committed some terrible crime. "I'm so sorry and I'm a terrible teacher and I really shouldn't have come and I'm sorry you've had to put up with me and don't worry, you'll find my letter of resignation on your desk first thing tomorrow morning."

"Hermione, what happened today was not strictly your fault. You _are_ one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this school has ever had, and so now I'm asking you to stay."

She just stared back at him. "Y-You mean, you're not going to sack me?"

"Of course not," he answered, his eyes almost twinkling. "Where did you get an idea like that?"

"Are you sure? I mean - "

"But of course, now that this has happened, we must send a letter to all of the children's parents. They must be informed of this mishap and of their child's condition."

Hermione's face fell. "Oh."

"I will be returning to my office to send the owls. You may return to your quarters if you like."

Hermione nodded. "I know, but I just want to stay here a bit longer."

Dumbledore gave her a weak smile and turned to head out the door. But right before he stepped out, he turned back to give her once last piece of advice. 

"Be prepared."

And she did. She braced herself for the worst.

~

_"Must you go?"_

She put one hand up to his face to cup his cheek.

"I must, Tom, I must," she answered, turning her head away from him so he wouldn't see her tears.

"But why? Are you not happy here? With me?"

"I cannot stay here. This isn't my time, this isn't my life."

"But it is."

"But it is not."

"You belong here, Lily."

"No, Tom, I belong in a world that's decades after this. I must go back - to my father, mother, and everyone I love dear."

"Do you not love me?"

"Oh, God, Tom, you know I love you!"

"Then don't leave me here like this!"

"Don't make this any harder for me, please."

"I lost my mother before I even knew her. She died giving birth to me. And my father," he said the word with disgust, "I have no father. He was not worthy of my mother, and one day I shall seek revenge for her. I grew up in an orphanage where they would have been very happy for me to die, for then they would have one less mouth to feed. Lily, I had no one. I loved no one. Until you."

"Tom…"

"I can't bear to lose you."

"I know. I cannot imagine how I would be able to live without you. But I must live that life, Tom. That is my destiny."

"Your destiny is only what you make of your life! Choose to stay."

"You know I cannot. You know how much I want to stay here, with you. But we can't always have what we want, Tom."

"I cannot live without you."

"And I, you."

"So is it my fate to lose the only person I have ever loved? What have I done wrong for God to cause me so much grief?"

"Tom, listen to me," she swallowed hard, "You are a wonderful and intelligent person. And I know," she choked back a sob, "I know that you will accomplish great things in your life…" her voice broke. "I love you, but I must go now."

"Lily…"

"Perform the spell."

There was a long pause.

"Please, Tom, please, before I change my mind."

He stared into her eyes, her beautiful green eyes full of sorrow, mirroring his own. And he knew that she loved him, and that was enough. If he really loved her, he realized, he must let her go. He held up his wand with a shaky hand.

"Melting, twisting, time unending…"

"Wait!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. " I-I..."

"Lily," he choked back a sob, "you must. I want you to stay here, with me, but now I understand that…I must let you go, and you must let me go. It is for the better."

She was silent for a moment. "You're right, Tom. If we're meant to be…our paths will cross again."

"Goodbye is only for now. We will meet again."

For one precious moment, they just stared at each other, trying to lock the image into their memories. Then he drew her into a burning kiss.

"I love you now, and I'll love you to the end of time."

"I love you."

He lifted his wand and began to wave it in small intricate patterns, his eyes closing as he did so.

"Melting, twisting, time unending…a delicate cut in time, mended by these words of mine…"

And when he opened his eyes, she was no more.

The man slowly opened his eyes and rose from his armchair, his blue eyes shining too brightly. He wanted something. No, he needed something. And there was only one way to get what he wanted, he knew.

He snapped his fingers twice, the sharp sound echoing off the walls, and disturbing the silence of the room. A few short seconds later, a trembling figure clothed in black entered the room.

"My Lord?"

"Bring me Harry Potter."

~

TBC

A/N: hello everybody! although it might seem like this story isn't going anywhere, it actually is! I swear! I've got the WHOLE story planned out and it's in a binder. Took me like 20-30 pages to plan out everything (I did it during the summer). So, it DOES have a plot even tho it kinda seems weird cuz I kno the story is entangled with snips of other characters' lives. But I swear it will all make sense in the end, I promise! 

Well, as always, REVIEW!!!!!!!!


	20. Out Of Order

Disclaimer: nothing belongs to me

A/N: ok this is chapter 20, and um…yeah I'm really angry…wanna hear why?

Alright, so one of my friends recently informed me that somebody like totally stole my story. And I wouldn't believe her, but I checked it out anyways. Soooo…I read it…and I got rather really pissed. I don't think I'd ever been angrier in my entire life. The author like practically stole the whole thing off of me. The plot is like the same. The scenarios are the same and it's almost exactly alike. I mean, I really doubt that it is a coincidence that she came up with the _exact_ same idea as me and the events and everything is practically all the same. I mean, I've heard about people copying other pplz stories but I never thought it would happen to me. I guess never thought there would actually be such evil, dishonest, and deceitful people in the world. I was wrong. Maybe I'm just too naïve or something. Anyhow, my friend wrote the author a note and then the author took the story off and wrote a note saying how she wasn't a cheater and that was her own idea, etc…and that got me even more pissed… Anyways I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY angry and in a really really really pissy mood. You guys might think I'm kinda overboard with this, but if it happened to you, you'd get really pissed too. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to the readers who reviewed: **arimel, Batty, Rebecca, ayumi-hamasaki, tom felton's babe, Kirstills, FengBee, MoonTrail, PheonixRae, Love, heavengurl899, animegirl-mika, Rebecca Anne, Danny, A-writer-for-life, Nazgul13, AnGeL, sparkling fire fly, fifteen, RiaKatKar, luvmealways89, no name, SocialButterfly, kring, Lexi, slytheringurl, Krissy, Witchfan, Roswell4ever, MJfan, and anybody I missed**

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 20

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Flashback

"Disgusting! Brussel sprouts again!" cried Ron as he stared down disapprovingly at the plate of brussel sprouts in front of him. "I can't believe they call this food."

"Oh do stop complaining, Ron! Do you know how hard the house elves work to prepare our dinner?" Hermione fired back harshly, reprimanding him.

"Not the house elves again! I thought you had gotten over that!"

"That's not what I mean! I mean that no matter how much you don't like a food, you should appreciate it because of all the hard work that was put into making it!"

"That doesn't make brussel sprouts any better tasting. Harry agrees with me, don't you, Harry?"

"Hmm? What was that?" Harry asked as he glanced up from the piece of parchment he had been writing on.

"_Another_ letter to Cho?" teased Ron. "Are you ever not in the middle of writing her a letter?"

He leaned over to try to take a glance at it, but Harry quickly covered it with his arms and scowled at him.

"_Obviously_ he loves Cho every much. He has so much commitment - which is more than I can say for _other_ boys I know," she said, turning her nose up to Ron.

Ron pretended he didn't hear and started to play with the food on his plate with a shiny silver fork. Harry returned to his letter writing and the three were silent except for the sound of a quill brushing against parchment, and the crisp crunch of a salad being chewed.

"Since I'm obviously not welcome here, I'll be leaving," said Hermione as she began to stand up.

"Where are you going now?" asked Ron, with an almost worried tone.

"The library, of course," replied Hermione, giving Ron an of-course-where-else-would-I-be-going look.

"Again? How many times have you gone to the library this week? You spend more time in the library than you do anywhere else."

"Well, contrary to you, Ron, I _care_ about my work, and I _like_ to get good marks. I need to get a good mark on our Defense Against The Dark Arts project, because I really did rather unpleasantly on our last exam."

"What'd you get? A one-hundred-nine percent instead of one-hundred-ten?" he replied snorting.

"Ron, that's not funny." She took a glance at her watch. "I'm meeting Malfoy there in approximately five minutes so we can do some research."

Ron's eyes grew big. "So this is what it's all about. You're meeting with Malfoy, again! Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about?"

"Ron, I know how much you hate Malfoy, but I can't help it if he's my partner on this project. You know how much I'd rather work with you or Harry, but that's never going to happen." Hermione picked up her book bag from under the seat and hung it on her shoulder.

"But Hermione, Malfoy's rather, well, dangerous," he said with an uneasy look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"His reputation - he hasn't got the best reputation. Everyone knows - "

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You don't have to brief me about his reputation."

"What I'm saying is that you should just be…careful."

"Ron, I'm seventeen years old, I think I know how to take care of myself."

"No, it's just that I don't think you should go near him for your own good." Ron reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me, Ron," she said coldly.

"Not unless you promise me that you'll stay away from that bastard," said Ron, keeping a good grip on her arm.

Hermione glared at him in frustration. "I have a project I have to do with him!"

"You spend every waking moment working on that project with him! Tell Moody that you want to change partners and that - "

"Ron! It's just a simple project! It's not like I'm going to sleep with him, okay?" She jerked her arm out of his grasp and turned to leave. "Just chill, all right?"

Before he could reply, she was already out of the doors of the Great Hall. He took his seat again, very frustrated and confused and turned to complain to Harry.

"I can't believe - I really can't believe - "

"Ron, it's okay, she can take care of herself," said Harry, rolling up the parchment and shoving it into his book bag.

"Why is it that I can't care about her and not have her get angry at me?"

"She knows you care about her, it's just she doesn't want you to act like her constant baby-sitter all the time. You know that's just how Hermione is."

Ron didn't reply, but just looked up into the enchanted sky in the Great Hall, staring into the stars.

"She knows that you love her."

"But does she love me?"

~

"Sorry I'm late, but I was - "

"-with Weasley," he finished for her, wearing a weary expression. He pulled off his glasses and closed the book that he had been reading.

She blushed. "So, have you found anything else we might need for the project?"

"We've been doing research in the library for _weeks_ now, I doubt that there's anything else we can find that we haven't already found."

"We've only spent about two hours a day working on it. And there's millions of books."

He sighed and reached into his book bag, fishing around until he brought out a thick stack of parchments and placed them on the table. Confused, Hermione took a few sheets and began to scan them.

"They're notes," she said softly. "Where did you get all these?"

"I don't know what you think, Granger, but I do spend a lot more time doing my work than you'd expect."

She glanced down on the notes again, those pages and pages of neat handwriting taking down the smallest details. It was at that moment, perhaps, that Hermione finally realized that Draco Malfoy wasn't a just a rich boy who bought himself into the Head Boy spot. She hated it admit it, but she felt a new respect for him.

"I never thought - "

"- that I was just as hardworking as you?"

"You really need to stop finishing my sentences for me. I really can't believe this. These notes - they're hours and hours of work! Where did you find all the time for this?"

"While you were - "

"-with Ron." He looked at her in surprise but she merely smiled a you're-not-the-only-person-in-the-world-who-can-finish-someone-else's-sentence smile.

"Oh I feel terrible…all those times I was having fun with Ron and Harry, and you were here doing all this work…"

"It's all right. I've spent enough time in the library. Let's go get this experiment started."

"Malfoy, I really can't believe this. I don't know what to say. You just saved me hours and hours of research. I never knew you were this serious about work or anything. I just can't believe it."

Draco smiled to himself as he watched her pour over his notes. He never thought they would interest her so much, and he felt as if he'd gained something from her, something like appreciation or respect, or maybe both. He'd planned on bringing her to his room this night, but now he found that he just couldn't. He couldn't just…do that. It was the first time he'd ever felt ashamed of himself, of what he'd planned on doing. And he didn't even know why. He didn't know why he felt this way. Maybe it was because of the way she smiled. Or maybe the way her eyes lit up when she was excited. 

And he knew that she loved Weasley. He didn't know what it was, but just the thought of Weasley now brought on a feeling of…well, jealousy. He wished that maybe one day, someone would be able to love him the way that Granger loved Weasley, the pure, untainted kind of love that would never end. None of the girls he'd been with ever loved him - no, they weren't even close. They loved his looks, his power, and above all, his large fortune deep in the underground of Gringotts. But Granger, she was different. After spending hours with her in the last few weeks, and getting to know her so much better, his feelings changed towards her. She _had_ been a tool - a tool he could use to get back at Ron, but now he felt like he couldn't carry through with his original plan. She was so _different_. Maybe that was why he was so intrigued.

"Gosh, and here I was, complaining to Ron about working with you, while you were working your butt off on this. You know, if I'd have been working with Ron, we'd never get anything done. He never does any work you know." There was a slight pause. "I'm glad I'm working with you."

The last part was said softly, but he could hear the honesty in it, and hearing it made him feel better than he'd ever felt when he received a compliment. And he had no idea why he felt this way. Maybe he didn't want to know. Maybe it scared him.

"Why are you so quiet? We really should get going."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, snapping out of his reverie. "Where do you want to brew the potion?"

At this, she smiled mischievously. "I know the perfect place."

~

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"You'll see," she replied, walking a bit faster now.

Soon, they approached a small corridor and made a left turn. At the end, there was a door and on it was posted a sign: Out of Order.

Hermione pushed open the door and began to walk through, but then realized that Draco was standing there with a look of horror on his face.

"Come," she said, walking back towards him.

He gulped. "That's the girl's bathroom!"

"It's alright, there's nobody in there."

"But-but-"

"Malfoy," she said slyly, "don't pretend that you've never wanted to peek into a girl's bathroom before. There aren't any girls in there, I swear, and besides, it's not like you haven't seen it all before."

The last part came out of her mouth before she could stop it and when she realized what a naughty thing she had said, she clamped her hand over her mouth and muttered a small, "Sorry."

He shrugged, and pretended that he didn't care. He didn't know why, but her comment stung. That was the way she thought of him, he knew - the only way she'd _ever_ think of him. And it hurt. He didn't know why. Perhaps he didn't want to know.

"If you're not going to come Malfoy, I'll have to drag you in there," she said, and before he knew it, she had taken his hand into her own and was pulling him into the bathroom.

The soft and warm feel of her hand surprised him and his first instinct was to pull his hand away. However, she kept his hand grasped firmly and managed to drag him in.

"We'll work here," she said, and set all their supplies down, including a small cauldron.

Suddenly a loud wail pierced the air.

Draco turned in surprise and looked at Hermione for an answer. Hermione leaned over and began to whisper in his ear.

"Moaning Myrtle lives in here. She's rather moody. I don't like her much, but we'll have to put up with her."

Draco didn't hear a word she said because he was too busy enjoying the warmth created from her breath on his ear.

"Are you whispering secrets about me? You're a bad, bad girl Hermione!" came a shrill screechy voice from one of the toilet stalls.

"Who's Hermione?" asked Draco.

She stared at him. "Well to some people, I'm more than just 'Granger.'"

And then he remembered that her name wasn't just Granger. It was _Hermione_ Granger. How could he forget something like that?

"Sorry," he muttered, turning red. "I, uh, forgot."

Hermione smiled, not seeming angry at all. "You forgot, or you never knew?"

"Uh, both?"

She laughed at him good-naturedly and began setting up the experiment.

"How'd you find this place?" he asked, as he knelt down and began to help her.

"Well," she said with a sly look, "I don't know if I should be telling you this…but…"

"Tell me, you've got me interested already."

"Okay, but you have to promise that you won't get mad and beat me to death or anything, alright?"

He nodded.

"So back in second year, there was that whole chamber of secrets thing going on, right? Harry, Ron, and I thought that _you_ were the heir of Slytherin, and we really wanted to find out…so…"

"So what?"

"We snuck into Snape's cabinets and got ingredients to make a polyjuice potion. We made that here, and then drugged Crabbe and Goyle and Harry and Ron drank the polyjuice to pretend to be them and totally tricked you and found out that you _weren't_ the heir. Anyhow, that was an awful thing to do. And I suppose I'll apologize to you now for the three of us."

"You _what?_"

"Don't kill me! I've already suffered my consequences! It was terrible. You know what happened to me? I was supposed to be Millicent, but apparently I accidentally took one of her cat hairs…so I was turned into a half cat and spent weeks in the hospital wing. It was miserable."

He laughed. "Served you right. We all wondered where you were. Pansy was hoping you'd have been eaten by a hippogriff."

For the next three hours they concentrated on making the potion. Every single measurement had to be perfect, and was checked and double-checked numerous times. They were both hard workers, putting all their effort into their work.

"Well, I guess that's all we can do now," said Draco. "We have to wait exactly twenty seven hours before we can put the rest of the ingredients in."

"Yeah, I'm tired," said Hermione, yawning. "What time is it?"

"Eleven."

"Oh, shoot," she said. "I've got an essay for Binns that I need to do last minutes touch ups on. I've got to go now."

"I'll walk you back."

She nodded. "Sure, if Snape catches me, then you'll cover up for me, won't you?"

The two of them left the bathroom and hurried through all the corridors and down and up and down numerous stairs.

There was a sudden thud. "Ouch!"

Draco looked behind him and saw that Hermione had fallen in the trick stair and hurried to help her.

"Ow, my foot's stuck. I keep forgetting that there's a trick stair here. I mean, I've been here for seven years! You'd think I'd know!"

"Here, hold on," he said as he leaned over to try to pull her leg out. To keep her balance, the only thing Hermione could do was do hold on to him by his shoulders. In short, they were in a very uncomfortable position, and if anyone had seen them, he would have thought that they were doing something naughty.

With one big jerk, he finally was able to pull her leg out of the trick stair.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," but the look on her face told him that she definitely was not. "It's just my ankle really hurts. I think I sprained it. Let me try walking."

She closed her eyes and took one step, but her ankle wouldn't support her so she fell. Luckily, Draco was there to catch her before she fell to the hard floor.

"I'll just hop back, I guess."

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, with true concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile.

He shook his head. "Liar. You are _not_ fine."

"Do you have your wand?" she asked.

"No."

"Damn, neither do I. If I did, I could perform a healing spell." She sighed.

All of a sudden, Draco took her hands and put them around his neck, and she looked at him with surprise. "Hold on."

Then he swept her up in one graceful movement so that he now looked like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold of their new home.

"Malfoy!" she cried, almost in anger.

"Just hold on, alright? I'll carry you back since you can't walk."

Hermione didn't remember ever having been carried in her life. She couldn't help feeling his nicely toned chest against her body and not wanting to sink closer to him.

Soon, they arrived at the portrait leading to her quarters. 

"You can put me down now."

He hesitated, but slowly did as she requested. "Are you sure you won't have any trouble getting in?"

"I'll be fine."

"I don't trust you when you say that."

"I swear I'm fine." She stood up on one foot with one hand on his shoulder and brushed her clothes with her free hand. "Thank you."

Her voice made him walk to melt. He couldn't find his voice so he just smiled and shrugged.

Their faces were only separated by inches now, and their eyes connected for an eternity. He couldn't help but lean in to kiss her.

Perhaps she was scared, or perhaps for another reason, she turned away before he could plant his kiss, and hurried into the hole behind the portrait, her ankle hurting and all.

_I love Ron_, she thought as she fell on her bed, _Draco Malfoy just wants to get in my pants…I hate Malfoy…I'm in love with Ron…I'm in love with Ron…I don't like Malfoy at all whatsoever…I'm in love with Ron…_

Hermione had no idea that she haunted Draco Malfoy's dreams that night, and would many nights to come.

TBC

~

A/N: ok, the end of chapter 20. I have finals this week…yuck!

Please Review!!!


	21. What Love Is

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Disclaimer: Poor me, I don't own anything…everything is rowling's except for the plot, which is sooooo totally mine.

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A/N: Hey, thanks to the readers who reviewed - the thanks is at the end of the chapter

Ok, um…yeah, school is like depressing. We have to read the scarlet letter and it's so boring. I mean, seriously, sorry to all you people who like that book, but like, it's pointless. And our teacher can find symbolism in ANYTHING. I swear she like can't live without finding a symbol in each sentence. It's like, what's does "day" symbolize? Or "night"? Or the sun? and Rev. Wilson? I'm totally serious. She thinks there's symbolism EVERYWHERE. Ok, enough of that, I will stop complaining about english - it's beginning to boggle my brain.

So, well last time I mentioned that someone (I have an urge to say sumthin real nasty right now) like totally stole my plot. Well, the good news is, she's changed some of the little tiny details that were exactly like mine, and she's begun to write stuff that she made up on her own. Bad news is, the whole beginning (starting from chap 2) has like the exact same plot as mine, save the tiny details that she just changed. I mean, it used to be like she had a shortened version of my chapter one w/ the whole forest scene. And then the part where Draco and Pansy find the kid and Pansy *big surprise* can't have any kids. And like all the dialogue and content was like EXACTLY the same (except now she's changed it). And then Hermione is going under another name and living in the muggle world, but gets a letter from dumbledore to be a teacher, so she returns. And guess what she did in the muggle world? She owned a book store! Except now it's changed too. And then their kids meet up and become goody goody friends. Ok, I absolutely loved my plot when I first wrote this story because I really thought it was very original and nobody did anything like this. And sometimes I see people with stories now and then that kind of sort of sound like mine just a little bit, but not really, and I really don't care. But dude, this story was soooo similar. Everything was EXACTLY the same! Except that now it's been kinda altered a bit, which is good. I can take the excuse "It's really my own idea" only so far. And this was just too unnaturally similar. So I've been angry and that really hasn't helped with my writing. Wow, now I actually agree with my english teacher on one thing - DIE PLAIGERIZERS DIE! Ok, that was really mean, but I'm all angry.

Oh yeah, and don't kill me. This chapter has a bit of Pansy and Draco in it…but I swear that Draco will be with Hermione sometime soon! oh yeah and somewhere in the middle of the chapter there's gonna be some italized stuff, and that's Draco's thoughts, ok? Just wanted to clear that.

~

Forever Never Ends

Chapter 21

"Don't come in! Don't you dare come in!" her voice rang from the other side of the door.

"If you don't open the door this instant, I will hex it open!"

"Don't you dare!"

"Open the door!"

But he heard no reply, just his own heavy, ragged breathing.

"Parvati! I'm sorry, okay? Just let me in, alright? We'll talk this over," he said hurriedly and with more weariness in his voice than pure honestly, as he leaned his weight on the wooden door.

Without warning, the door swung open, which caused him to fall inside, but he was able to catch himself before hitting the ground.

Her face was a deep tomato red from anger and all he could do was to stare. He made a motion to touch her arm, but she grew his hand off.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his tone a bit more tender than it had been before. "Let's talk, alright?"

The red color left her face and she suddenly turned very white and inanimate, staring at the deep blue color of the carpet.

"What is there to talk about?" she asked, in barely an audible whisper, her voice showing the same hopelessness that she wore on her face.

"About why we're always like this," he answered, also becoming quite interested in the carpet.

"Ron, you know exactly why! You know exactly why this isn't working out and why it will _never_ work out!"

Ron Weasley appeared dumbfounded as he stared at his wife, but his confusion changed slowly to guilt.

"Why?" he asked, although he didn't want to know the answer.

Parvati squeezed her eyes shut in silent agony, and pearly tears slid down her face, landing on the soft carpet.

"Because you're in love with her," she said, reopening her eyes and wearing an absolutely blank look on her face.

He was completely silent, as this was one of those truths that he still couldn't face after all these years.

"Because you're _still_ in love with her. Because you've _always_ been in love with her."

He began speaking, his voice unnaturally shaky. "I'm not. I'm in love with you."

"Oh, Ron, spare me the lies, right now, alright? What I'm saying you know is the truth!" She looked at him, the soft, loving way that a wife looks at her husband. She could not help it when a small cry of despair departed from her lips. "Do you know how hard it has been all these years, knowing that the man you married loves another woman? That you were only his last resort?"

"Parvati, that's not true - " he began.

"I can tell what's true and what's not! I see the way you look when her name is brought up. Despite what you think, I'm not blind, Ron Weasley!"

She drew in a long breath and chuckled almost maniacally. "She rejected you, didn't she? Back in seventh year. Didn't she? So you came running to me in the midst of all your anger and despair. And I actually thought you cared for me."

"It doesn't matter anymore. That was then! Now she's dead!"

"She's _not_ dead!" Parvati cried in an outrage.

For a moment, Ron's heart skipped a beat. "She's not?" he asked, his voice sounding hopeful.

Parvati shook her head slowly, although not as an answer to his question. "See? See what I mean? You still love her despite what she has done to you. But you have no place in your heart for me."

"I'm sorry," was all he could mutter out. "I'm sorry."

And for once in all these years, he was truthful.

"I did love her," he finally said, letting the words slip slowly from his lips. "So much…" and here his voice broke. "And I thought she loved me too. But I was mistaken. I thought I could get rid of all the pain, by being with you. You comforted me. And I wanted to show her that I didn't need her in my life. That I could live just fine without her. That I could love you just as much as I loved her."

He paused hesitantly, but then raised his eyes to meet hers.

"I loved Hermione, but that was a long time ago. Now I love you."

"Ron," she said bitterly, turning away from him, "you don't even know what love is."

~

She glided down the magnificent stairs in the dark of the night, her hands sliding smoothly down the railing, and her majestic purple robes flowing like water ripples. Her silky dark hair floated almost buoyantly behind her as she descended down the grand straircase with a certain, ethereal grace. An observer would have thought she looked nothing less than a princess - a beautiful princess stepping straight out of a fairy tale.

But of course she did. She was brought up like a princess, pampered like a princess, and was trained to be one. This was the way she learned how to live. This was the way she lived. Those years of learning manners and etiquette. Those countless hours balancing books on her head. Maybe it did pay off. But in the end, she was still herself.

The staircase ended and her feet landed daintily on the crystal floor. This was the second floor, she realized, as she took a good look around. With more than one thousand rooms and at least one hundred stories, Malfoy Manor, even to those who live in it, was one large maze, full of intricate designs of passageways.

It was only a moment before she heard footsteps coming from the hallway to the right, and the loud bellowing of a heavy cloak. The footsteps neared, and finally, a figure cloaked in midnight black was discernable in the light of the moon shining from outside a large window. The figure stopped in his step as he saw her, and she smiled softly in the darkness.

She reached out for him gently with her right hand, and he came slowly towards her, finally extending his own hand to meet hers. Her warm hands melted his icy cold ones, and she looked into his eyes, the icy-gray ones that she had been so accustomed to seeing.

"You're back." It was almost a whisper.

He put his free hand up to her cheek and touched it lightly. And she let the ice completely devour her.

"Yes, I'm back."

He smiled gently and reassuringly at her, creating a bridge between their hearts. The strong connection was broken when he began to speak again.

"Where's the light? It's completely dark in here. I can barely see a thing."

She reached inside her robes and removed a small wooden wand. "Lumos!"

The interior of the manor burst into light as the shining chandeliers flicked on simultaneously. Malfoy Manor, although detested by many, was a place of unrivaled splendor. Everything square inch of the place was covered in gleaming gold, or crystal, or any other precious treasure. The manor generated a kind of warmth - a homely like of warmth like when one is with his family at Christmas time, sitting by the fireplace and watching the snow flake flutter down outside the window. It was hardly believable that such a place was capable of such warmth and emotion.

"Come," he said, grasping her hand and leading her quickly into a dimly lighted chamber. It was his chamber. And hers.

He directed her into the lovely oak chair that sat in front of the large dresser mirror and motioned for her to sit down. From inside his dark cloak, he drew out a small red box and handed it to her.

"For me?" she asked uncertainly as her hands traced the soft velvet of the box.

"Who else?" he asked as he kneeled down beside her, watching as she slowly lifted the top off, revealing an exquisite diamond necklace.

She drew a sharp breath. "It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful."

He only smiled in reply. "Let me put it on for you."

He removed the necklace from the box and set it around her neck, slowly clasping it at the back of her neck.

"Do you like how it looks?"

"Do you?" she asked, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"Yes," he whispered. "You look beautiful."

She smiled with a sort of sad joy, fingering the glowing necklace as it lay on her smooth skin. "If you like it, then I like it."

He spent an eternity just staring at their reflection in the mirror with an ineffable kind of sadness. He saw the image of the woman in the mirror, but his mind's memory slowly burred the reflection and change it into another face, a face that he had been longing to see for years. A face that he knew he never would. Raised in the wealthiest wizarding family in the world, he was taught to be selfish, not having the faintest idea about how to care for someone else. Until he met _her_. She had turned his world upside down. She had taught him how to smile, how to laugh, how to love.

And then before he knew it she was gone.

He had held selfishly onto her memory, held on for so long. It was only recently that he had realized how absolutely selfish he was being, especially to the young woman in the chair who he was kneeling beside. She had given him her heart, yet he wasn't able to do the same. Life hadn't been fair to him, but he couldn't let her suffer his pain, that burning ache that was slowly consuming his heart. No matter how unfair life was to him, he let wouldn't be able to let himself be unfair to her anymore.

No matter how much it broke it heart to know he must do it, he knew it needed to be done.

He grasped her hand tenderly and lifted her out of the chair. "Come with me," he said with no explanation at all. And she gladly followed.

He led her to a part of the manor that even she had even been to before. The place was new to her and hauntingly exciting. He slowly opened one of the doors in the quiet hallway and led her inside. She gasped at the splendor of this place. It was a large library, full of shelves and shelves of books. It was his own collection. His own secret collection.

Still holding on to her hand, he ventured over to a far corner and hesitated before drawing out a small leather-bound book. She had not seen it before, and couldn't see how this could possibly have anything to do with anything.

He held the book up to his heart and closed his eyes softly, inhaling deeply. It was a moment before he finally turned around to face the woman.

She opened her mouth to speak, to ask what the significance of this book was, but he answered it before the question could pass on her lips.

"A memory, just a dream," he said softly, his voice with a dream-like quality, answering her unasked question. Then he stepped forward and took her hand in his, letting their fingers intertwine.

His steps slower and heavier, he led her back into their chamber, where they sat down before the warm cozy fireplace, still holding hands.

He seemed to stare into the fireplace, almost for an eternity, watching the happily dancing sparks. She opened her mouth to speak to him, but promptly shut her mouth when she saw the expression he wore on his face. It was like seeing a painting of his face, full of vivid colors. There was anguish, despair, agony, anger, hopelessness, but underneath it all, she saw a pure kind of untainted love.

Finally, his eyes broke away from the flickering flames and glanced only once at the book in his hands, his fingers tracing over the lettering on the front. She saw a strange kind of determination come over him, and almost gasped at what he did next. 

With the same kind of determination, he leaned forward and threw the small leather-bound book into the engulfing flames, letting it slip from his hands to be devoured by the welcoming fire.

__

I'm sorry…

The savage flames began to consume the old book, and it brought upon him a searing pain, as if it was his own body, his own soul, that was being scorched in the flames.

__

But I have to let go now…

And he kept watching, watching.

__

And face reality…

Watching as the golden letterings faded slowly.

__

I loved you…

And faded till it was no more.

__

But I cannot love you anymore…

And that was the first time she saw his icy eyes melt.

__

Forgive me…

"This is the end of a chapter of my life…that should have ended long ago."

_But remember me…_

His voice was soft and hinted at his anguish.

__

Because I will never forget you…

"And now…it's the beginning of another."

And with that, he pushed all thoughts of the past within the deepest chambers of his mind, and letting his soul start anew. He leaned over slowly, towards the woman beside him and captured her lips with his.

~

An absurdly loud owl began tapping incessantly at the window, begging for entrance. The sudden noise killed the silence in the room, and Parvati quickly snapped out of her daze and hurried to the window, throwing it open to let the owl drop its letter. She turned the letter to the back and saw the familiar purple wax seal and coat of arms.

"It's from Hogwarts," she said holding the letter out to the man, worry beginning to creep into her voice.

He quickly snatched the letter out of her hand, hastily ripping it open, letting his eyes scan the parchment with horror.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Weasley,

We regret to inform you that you child, Alexander Edward Weasley, fell victim to an unfortunate mishap with mandrakes today at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, we assure you that he is alive and well and will be revived. In the meantime, as the parents of the victim, you have permission to enter the school grounds to visit your child in the hospital wing.

My greatest apologies,

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster

"What does it say, Ron?" she asked, with a troubled voice. "What's wrong?"

"There's been an accident at Hogwarts."

Parvati gasped and exhaled. "What kind of accident? Is he alright?"

"Mandrakes!" Ron said hurriedly. "They've been knocked out by mandrakes!"

"Is he alright?" she asked again, this time louder.

"I'll go to Hogwarts now and -"

"No, Ron, you can't. Remember you've got a late night meeting to attend at Cornelius Fudge's home to discuss developments in your department."

"But Parvati! Alex is surely more important than Cornelius Fudge!"

"Fudge is not a man who likes to be kept waiting. He'll surely sack you if you don't attend!"

"I _must_ see Alex."

"I'll go," she said hastily, donning her blue cape. "I will go to Hogwarts in your stead and find him."

~

He hastily threw on his shirt and began buttoning it, his fingers fumbling with the buttons. She glided over to him, to help him button in the midst of all the anxiety that was filling up the room like a noxious gas. Then she threw a sleek gray tie around his neck and began to fold it, in the end achieving a perfectly beautiful tied tie. All this she accomplished very quickly, but still with the same soft flowing grace that was her nature.

"I must hurry there."

She nodded, her brows creasing with worry. "Yes, hurry."

He glanced down at the letter that was clenched in his hands. It had just arrived a few minutes ago. The owl had come at an absolutely absurd hour in the morning, it was probably about three o'clock, waking him. At first they thought it was an intruder, despite the fact that Malfoy Manor had more than one hundred security charms.

"I might not be back for a while. Please - "

"I know, I know. I'll cancel your meetings. I know what to do."

He looked tenderly into her eyes, with a hint of appreciation. "You always know what to do."

She threw a dark cloak around his shoulder and smoothed the creases out with her hands. "Send my love to her."

"I will."

He gathered her in his arms and kissed her softly before sweeping out of the room, his cape billowing behind him.

~

The woman stood quietly in the corner, taking in the scene with a feeling of pure guilt. It was her fault, she knew it. She had been standing there for hours. She knew not how long, but she knew that it was nearing the dawn of the next day already. This, she determined, was her punishment.

Madame Pomfrey, glanced once at her from the side of one of the beds, and then sighed and began walking to her side.

"You need some rest, Hermione," she said gently, the way a mother speaks to a child. "You can't hold up much longer."

"Just a while longer," she whispered, the fatigue slowly creeping into her voice.

Poppy frowned at the idea, but nodded nevertheless. "Just a while longer. And then if you don't leave willingly, I will hex you out of these doors."

More than a little while passed before Poppy finally, in her sternest voice, was able to convince the guilt-ridden young professor to return to her chambers.

Hermione, less than willingly, slowly let her aching legs carry her out of the doors of the hospital wing. On her way to her room, she passed by the strong oak front doors of the school, remembering the first time she had stepped that threshold. It was nearly twenty years ago.

Sighing deeply, she continued on her way, and approached a turn in the hallway. It was then that she heard the front doors swing open angrily with a loud bang, as wood hit stone. She flinched and wondered who or what had swung the doors open with such a force, but nevertheless continued on her way.

~

He approached the great iron gates and quickly pushed it open, striding through at a quick pace. He hurried down the stone path, occasionally stepping on the tufts of grass that were growing in the crevices in the ground. Beyond him stood the magnificent castle that had been home to him for seven years of his life. He climbed up the steps with speed and paused before the large front entrance.

He was a bit infuriated, to say the least. After all, his daughter had suffered an injury in their hands. How could he not be even the least bit angered?

His anger was reflected in the way he forcefully swung the heavy wooden doors open. They opened with a loud boom and he quickly darted into them. Having not entered inside these doors for ten years, he had almost forgotten the splendor of the great castle. Dazed for only a moment, he began to look around, trying to remember where the hospital wing was. Glancing down the hallway toward the right, he saw a figure clothed in dark blue hastily turn the corner.

For a moment, he wanted to stop that person, and ask him or her for directions, but then decided otherwise as his mind suddenly cleared, and he knew just exactly where every place or room in the castle was.

Without any further thoughts, he swept down the hallway to the left, his footsteps echoing down the hall.

~

TBC

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A/N: Wow, um…the end of another chapter. I'm so proud of myself because I finished this chapter in just a few days, (I started last week) (ok that's not something to brag about, but to me that's a great feat because I'm so busy I usually take a REALLY long time to write a whole chapter).

This chapter I know is rather confusing. I used a ton of pronouns so that got stuff all weird and twisted. But using names just totally destroys the mood of the chapter in some cases. In case you guys didn't understand this chapter, here is a short explanation:

So Ron and Parvati are fighting…that was pretty obvious. And the thing w/ Draco that might have been confusing is that, well, he feels really guilty and selfish to have kept holding on to the memory of Hermione for so long and he feels like he has not been fair to Pansy. So he has decided, despite his poor heart breaking, that he will wipe out all thoughts of Hermione, and give his whole heart to Pansy (like that one part in Pearl Harbor where Evelyn says good bye to Rafe and says she must give her whole heart to Danny). He has resolved to love Pansy with his whole heart because he realized he has been utterly selfish and unfair to her all these years, as in, not loving her when she totally loved him. So he throws the book (which symbolizes his last memory of her) in the fire to let it burn, because the book's burning sort of symbolizes his giving up of past dreams. And of course, the book has been mentioned in earlier chapters, but maybe some of you didn't catch that. The book will again be mentioned in the next chapter, I think. And then they get the letter, and so on and now he's come to Hogwarts. Yay! They are going to meet soon!

Again, it would be GREAT if you could review, please?????

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And thanks bunches to the people who reviewed:

Ayumi-hamasaki - um…I promise Draco and Hermione will meet soon, but not quite yet

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Rebecca - I'm glad you liked some of the dialogue in chap 20, hehehe. And I'm glad also that the chapter brightened your day - your review brightened mine!

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Stace - yeah, I totally agree, Hermione and Draco make the best couple ever!

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princessroses - sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but here's the next chapter

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animegirl-mika - yeah, I liked the turn of events too. Um…the story ID number of the story that is like mine is 1167446

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Butterscotch Duck - I totally want Draco to suffer too! But then I agree with you that they should be together in the end

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Tom's gal - I'm glad you like this story!

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fifteen - yeah, I'm sorry that Draco's not that evil. It's just…I can't make people evil! I'm terrible at characterizing! Sorry!

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amisaturn2 - I totally agree with you that the crucible just totally sucked (stupid puritans), but I'm glad you like this story

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AlyBaby - me too! Draco is the best!

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Beth-e Felton - sorry I've waited so long to update!

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Rachel - yeah, I didn't think that was real nice either, so I'm kinda mad, I emailed it to you, but for some reason it got sent back

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HarryPotterfan - well, sorry to have kept you waiting for so long and for leaving it there

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tom felton's babe - glad you like it, and they're going to meet…soon…

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dEsTiNy - well, you won't find out what separated them for quite a while…but it'll get there

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Artsgirl15 - I'm glad you like it!

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heavengurl899 - oh, too bad that you don't have the internet and I hope you get everything done!

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Skye17 - hey, thanks! Yeah, I'm rather proud of my plot *blushes*

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Lulu - Sorry I had to wait so long to update, and yeah, my finals went ok, especially since my chem teacher curved the final like a ton

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calikitten - I totally agree with you! Physics just totally sux!!!!

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MoonTrail - thanks for your feedback and support!

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Rebecca Anne - thanks! glad you like it!

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sWeEt NoThInGs - glad you liked this chapter, but I'm sorry you're so confused!

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Depth - thanks, and sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter

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Loloring - sorry this chapter took so long to write!

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Hannah - I think all english teachers are evil!!!!!!! Especially mine!

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luvmealways89 - yeah, Draco is beginning to fall! glad you thought the chapter was good. Um…I'm pretty sure the fic we'll always have paris is still somewhere on ff.net

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zarsky - thanks! I'm sorry I took so long to update!

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Goth-Ic - awww, well I don't think D/Hr will ever happen in the harry potter series either, but I can just imagine it will, hehehe.

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Krissy - don't worry, I won't desert it!

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Draco i-wanna-know-if-she-likes-me Malfoy - alright! I've updated!

I'm sorry if I missed anyone! I hope I haven't! But since I'm stupid, I might have!

Anyhow, review!


	22. VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

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Important Author's Note:

I just finished writing my author's note to my other story, so this one will be very much similar to it, just in case you read both my stories and you think something funky is going on. In fact, much of this is copied and pasted. Well, some at least.

Alright, so, as many of you know, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix officially came out yesterday. Well, I read it yesterday, and I couldn't fall asleep all night because I was so damn sad. I'm currently suffering from depression (well, okay, not _really_, but sort of). HOW COULD JK ROWLING KILL *THE PERSON*????????? I'm in denial. Okay, so, I'm seriously like a deflated balloon right now. Depressed.

So, I have no idea when the next chapter will be up (even though thankfully I survived my oral surgery) due to my sorrow over *the person*'s death. And what's worse, the stuff that happens in book five really kind of makes me have to change the plot of the story a bit. Ok, well, not just a bit. I'm going to have to change it _quite_ a bit. The fifth book doesn't affect my other story (TSM) that much, but it will definitely affect this story a significant amount. There might be some holes left in the plot afterwards, but I'm trying my hardest to think of ways to make everything fit right. I might go back and edit the old chapters a bit (maybe) because it doesn't fit that well with book five.

I certainly hope that I will be done writing this story before the 6th book comes out, because it could create trouble again for me. And I love this story too much to abandon it before it's done, which I'd have to do if JK Rowling decided to kill a crucial character in book six. So I'll be trying to write faster to finish it before book six comes out and attempts to ruin my plans again. Sort of.

Also, just as a warning, from now on, my story will probably and most definitely contain spoilers for the fifth book. I hope that by the time I have posted the next chapter that most of you will have been done reading the book so that I don't spoil anything for you. In fact, you are all probably reading the book right now and haven't got a clue that this author's note is up. Well, it doesn't matter because I'm writing this note anyway and I'm going to post it whether or not people will read it.

It'll take me some time to get over *the person*s death. Hey, I really liked this person! He/She was really cool…and now, he/she is gone. Sad days. I hope I'll get over it soon and be in the mood to write my story again. Currently I'm trying to think of ways to fit the stuff that happens in book five in with the plot of the story, although it's kind of hard.

When the next chapter is done, I will take off this author's note and replace it with the next chapter. Hopefully it will show up as updated in ff.net. Well, have fun reading the new Harry Potter book! Till next time, ciao!

~meg~

June 22, 2003


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